Deep learning models for cancer stem cell detection: a brief review

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), also known as tumor-initiating cells (TICs), are a subset of tumor cells that persist within tumors as a distinct population. They drive tumor initiation, relapse, and metastasis through self-renewal and differentiation into multiple cell types, similar to typical stem cell processes. Despite their importance, the morphological features of CSCs have been poorly understood. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology have provided automated recognition of biological images of various stem cells, including CSCs, leading to a surge in deep learning research in this field. This mini-review explores the emerging trend of deep learning research in the field of CSCs. It introduces diverse convolutional neural network (CNN)-based deep learning models for stem cell research and discusses the application of deep learning for CSC research. Finally, it provides perspectives and limitations in the field of deep learning-based stem cell research.