Abstract: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive malignancies and is characterized by poor response to current therapy and a dismal survival rate. Recent insights regarding the role of cancer stem cells (CSC) in tumorigenesis have brought further understanding of the field and have highlighted new therapeutic targets. CSCs are a distinct subset of cancer cells, with the ability to differentiate into other cell types and self-renew in order to fuel the maintenance of tumor amplification. Here review the key pathways involved in these processes, the biomarkers used to identify CSC for finding new therapeutic approaches targeting CSC.

Key words: cancer stem cells，pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma，epithelial–mesenchymal transition