Gastric cancer (GC) is a disease that threatens human health. It is thus crucial to clarify the mechanisms involved in GC development and discover diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutics. As a cancer stem cell marker, aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) is involved in the development, progression, and treatment of GC. This review evaluated the prognostic value of ALDH1 and explored its mechanism of action in GC. Importantly, ALDH1 is an informative biomarker in clinical practice as it has specific relationships with indicators, such as metastasis and overall survival. Additionally, ALDH1 interacts with genes and exhibits properties that mimic stem cell characteristics amongst other mechanisms employed in the occurrence and progression of GC. Our results, therefore, provide evidence of possible clinical utility of ALDH1 as a GC therapeutic target.
Copyright © 2022 Ling Wang et al.