Unlocking the Potential of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Revolutionizing Cancer Therapy

Abstract: Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) are among the top versatile implements of biomedical research. Stem cell science has made strides over the past few years, emerging as a new opportunity to treat cancer, and many such continuous initiatives have been made into clinical trials. As the global mortality rate is too high despite the effectiveness of prevalent cancer therapies, this review explores the potential of iPSC in different aspects of cancer-related areas. The preparation of iPSCs, including their derivation from cancer stem cells, was covered after establishing the intricacy of current cancer treatments. This article highlights the potential of iPSC- based NK cells and dendritic cells for immunotherapy and delves into the role of iPSC-based mesenchymal cells in targeted therapy. The potential of iPSC-derived organoids as a vital tool for disease modeling and drug discovery has been showcased, and the importance of iPSC-based cancer vaccines is also emphasized. The ongoing clinical trials of iPSC-based cancer treatment have also been highlighted. Though much work remains to be done to implicate these iPSC-based therapeutic options from research labs to clinics and hospitals, ongoing studies and clinical/translational follow-ups raise hope for novel cancer therapies employing iPSC technology.