On June 9, 2023, Professor Pan Jingxuan from Sun Yat-sen University, delivered a lecture titled "Regulation and drug intervention of cancer stem cells" at the Lihu Campus of Shenzhen University. Professor Pan Jingxuan was invited by Professor Baohua Liu from the School of Basic Medical Science of Shenzhen University Medical School, to help mark the 40th anniversary of Shenzhen University. These celebrations have included some 1,000 academic activities, with this event being the 950th, and the 76th lecture of the Shenzhen University Medicine Forum.

In his seminar, Professor Pan detailed the transcriptional regulation of cancer stem cells (CSC) in malignant tumors, especially in leukemia, and the mechanisms of liver tumor metastasis and targeted drug interventions.  As Professor Pan explained, CSCs are a primitive cell type with multidirectional differentiation potential and self-replication ability. Their high heterogeneity and plasticity are central to the survival, proliferation, drug resistance, recurrence, and metastasis of many tumors. CSCs were first discovered in hematologic malignancies, but emerging evidence support that CSCs exist in both hematologic and solid tumors, where they help regulate tumor initiation and development. Targeted interventions on CSCs will thus provide new opportunities for precise metastatic cancer treatment; however, there are many challenges in targeting CSCs to overcome first. Pertinent questions include: how to find specific CSC markers, how to target the malignant progression of tumors caused by CSCs, and how to inhibit tumors by suppressing the high heterogeneity and dynamic changes of CSCs. Finally, Professor Pan summarized the current progress of studying CSCs in hematological malignancies and uveal melanoma, and discussed the prospects for CSC research. He proposed that exploring the mechanisms of CSCs in malignant tumors and implementing targeted therapy is fundamental for achieving more efficient cancer treatments.

Brief introduction of the Speaker

Professor Pan Jingxuan from Sun Yat-sen University, is the Vice Chairman of the Professional Committee of Tumor Pharmacology of the Chinese Pharmacological Society and the Professional Committee of Anti-tumor Drugs of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, the Vice Chairman of the Gerontology Branch of the Chinese Gerontology and Geriatrics Society, and the Chairman of the Special Committee of Cancer Foundation and Transformation Research of the Chinese Gerontology and Geriatrics Society.

Professor Pan worked at the MD Anderson Cancer Center of the University of Texas, USA, for 8 years. In 2006, he returned to China through the "Hundred Talents Program" of Sun Yat-sen University and served as a Professor and doctoral advisor at the Sun Yat sen Medical College. In 2010, he won the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars.

Professor Pan is interested in tumor targeted therapy and tumor pharmacology research. Specifically, his research interests include the regulatory mechanisms of CSCs, tumor targeted drug resistance, and targeted interventions on these processes. To date, he has published 85 SCI papers in professional journals such as Cell Metabolism, Science Translational Medicine (selected into the top ten research advances in Hematology in China in 2021), the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Signal Transport Target There, Blood, Cancer Research, and Clinical Cancer Research.