PROM1 and cancer: Considering this evidence, our hypothesis was that growth factors secreted by platelets, by promoting the expansion of the putative drug-resistant CD133+ and ALDH+ OvCa cancer stem cells (CSCs), could decrease the anticancer activity of paclitaxel (PTX), cisplatin (CDDP) and carboplatin (CBDCA), the standard postoperative chemotherapy medications [23] for OvCa, and could thus justify the poor prognosis observed in patients with high platelet counts [11].