POU5F1 and colorectal cancer: Previously, expression of SOX2 has been shown to be associated with CSC phenotype in colorectal cancer and lower levels of SOX2 expression have been suggested to associate prognosis for relapse-free survival [25] and forced expression of OCT4 and SOX2 has been shown to induce CSCs properties including sphere formation, chemoresistance and tumorigenicity [63].