Cancer stem cells (CSCs) possess properties such as self-renewal, resistance to apoptotic cues, quiescence, and DNA-damage repair capacity. Moreover, CSCs strongly influence the tumour microenvironment (TME) and may account for cancer progression, recurrence, and relapse. CSCs represent a distinct subpopulation in tumours and the detection, characterisation, and understanding of the regulatory landscape and cellular processes that govern their maintenance may pave the way to improving prognosis, selective targeted therapy, and therapy outcomes. In this review, we have discussed the characteristics of CSCs identified in various cancer types and the role of autophagy and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in maintaining the homeostasis of CSCs. Further, we have discussed methods to detect CSCs and strategies for treatment and relapse, taking into account the requirement to inhibit CSC growth and survival within the complex backdrop of cellular processes, microenvironmental interactions, and regulatory networks associated with cancer. Finally, we critique the computationally reinforced triangle of factors inclusive of CSC properties, the process of autophagy, and lncRNA and their associated networks with respect to hypoxia, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and signalling pathways.

Central European Institute of Technology Masaryk University 625 00 Brno Czech Republic

Department of Functional Genomics GlaxoSmithKline Stevenage SG1 2NY UK

Department of Life Sciences Birmingham City University Birmingham B15 3TN UK

Department of Neurology Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston MA 02114 USA

Division of Cellular and Molecular Pathology Department of Pathology University of Cambridge Cambridge CB2 0QQ UK

Institute of Cancer and Genomic Sciences College of Medical and Dental Sciences University of Birmingham Birmingham B15 2SY UK

Institute of Translational Medicine University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust Birmingham B15 2TH UK

Mammalian Genetics Unit Medical Research Council Harwell Institute Oxfordshire OX110RD UK

MRC Health Data Research Midlands University of Birmingham Birmingham B15 2TT UK

NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Birmingham B15 2TT UK

NIHR Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre Birmingham B15 2TT UK

NIHR Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre Birmingham B15 2TT UK

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