Targeting Oxidative Stress Specific NRF2 in Pancreatic Cancer Stem Cells

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a subpopulation of malignant cells, have the critical self-renewal resource, tumor-forming potential, and unlimited repopulation capacity, answerable for drug resistance and cancer. The tumor microenvironment helps to protect these CSCs, keeps up CSCs phenotypic plasticity, defenses against immune cells, and simplifies metastatic capacity. This is undoubtedly authentic for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC). The tumor microenvironmental factors such as pancreatic stellate cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and immune cells make a fertile niche for CSCs. The nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor2 (Nrf2) is a transcription factor that plays a pivotal role in oxidative stress-induced disease and cancer. Atypical initiation of Nrf2 relates to cancer progression, chemoresistance, and radioresistance. This chapter illustrates the role of Nrf2 in oxidative stress-induced PDAC tumorigenesis, CSC maintenance, and drug resistance to combat CSC mediated PDAC malignancy, by developing Nrf2 targeting drugs.