胰腺癌的预后不佳与治疗中的抗药性和早期远处转移有关。癌症干细胞的发现开辟了癌症生物学和治疗的新途径。许多研究指出了这些干细胞在血液学和实体恶性肿瘤中的致癌和进展作用。由于癌症干细胞在胰腺肿瘤的增殖和保存中的存在，使用化疗和放疗等传统治疗技术可能难以根除此类恶性肿瘤。假设胰腺恶性肿瘤源于有限数量的异常癌症干细胞，以促进癌变、肿瘤转移和治疗抗性。本综述考察了胰腺癌干细胞在该疾病中的作用及其在癌变上的重要性，以及调节它们的信号，并详细分析了正在进行的与胰腺干细胞相关的临床研究。版权所有© Bentham Science Publishers; 如有任何疑问，请发送电子邮件至epub@benthamscience.net。

A poor prognosis is associated with pancreatic cancer because of resistance during treatment and early distant metastases. The discovery of cancer stem cells has opened up novel avenues for research into the biology and treatment of cancer. Many investigations have pointed out the role of these types of stem cells in the oncogenesis and progression of hematologic and solid malignancies, specifically. Due to the existence of cancer stem cells in the proliferation and preservation of pancreatic tumors, such malignancies could be difficult to eradicate using conventional treatment techniques like chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is hypothesized that pancreatic malignancies originate from a limited population of aberrant cancer stem cells to promote carcinogenesis, tumour metastasis, and therapeutic resistance. This review examines the role of pancreatic cancer stem cells in this disease and their significance in carcinogenesis, as well as the signals which modulate them, and also examines the ongoing clinical studies that are now being conducted with pancreatic stem cells.Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.