Signal Transduction Targeting of Cancer Stem Cells Using Natural Compounds: Mechanisms, Challenges, and Nano-Enabled Solutions

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have an essential function in cancer spread, tumor reappearance, and treatment resistance, which creates major difficulties for traditional cancer treatment methods. Natural products that exhibit anti-CSC activity include flavonoids and alkaloids and polyphenols which include curcumin and resveratrol as they disrupt Wnt and Notch and Hedgehog vital signaling pathways. The compounds stop CSCs from growing while they kill CSCs and stop epithelial-mesenchymal transition and drug resistance development. The clinical usage of these natural compounds encounters obstacles because of their poor solubility and low bioavailability and unstable nature. The natural product-based drug delivery systems developed through nanotechnology enhance both product stability and their ability to deliver drugs to specific targets while increasing their treatment power, which results in better CSC removal. Scientists can develop safer yet more powerful treatments to stop tumor recurrence and drug resistance through the combination of natural compound nanoformulation and current medical treatments. The upcoming preclinical and clinical trials need to establish optimal nanocarrier formulations while researchers continue to study CSC biology to develop new cancer treatments.