The Impact of the “Yogic Lifestyle” on Cancer Prognosis and Survival: Can we Target Cancer Stem Cells with Yoga?

Cancer has recently been known to originate from stem cell-like cells, called cancer stem cells (CSCs). Their unique properties of self-duplication, multiplication, as well as migration give the CSC resistance over conventional cancer therapies. Newer therapies are in developmental stage to target these stem cell-like populations and become the vanguard of future treatments. Several complementary and alternative treatments have been used in cancer management as an adjunct to conventional therapy to improve the overall quality of life and reduce recurrence. Yoga stands as the third most popular of all complementary and alternative medicine treatments currently used in cancer patients today. Preliminary results show that yoga modulates neural, hormonal, and immune functions at a cellular level. The scope of this commentary is to discuss the current evidence-based medicine on yoga and its effect on CSCs.