CD44 and lung cancer: CSCs can be identified by specific cell surface markers, such as CD44 and CD133 in lung cancer and CD24 in breast cancer.39,40 In our study, CSC subpopulations in IR-treated NSCLC cells exhibited higher JMJD6 expression compared to non-CSC populations, and JMJD6 knockdown attenuated the stemness properties of NSCLC cells in response to IR, providing functional evidence for its role in maintaining the self-renewing CSC pool.