scholarly journals The Evolving Concepts of Cancer Stem Cells in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amit Shah ◽  
Shilpa Patel ◽  
Jigna Pathak ◽  
Niharika Swain ◽  
Shwetha Kumar

There is increasing evidence that the growth and spread of cancers is driven by a small subpopulation of cancer stem cells (CSCs)—the only cells that are capable of long-term self-renewal and generation of the phenotypically diverse tumor cell population. CSCs have been identified and isolated in a variety of human cancers including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The concept of cancer stem cells may have profound implications for our understanding of tumor biology and for the design of novel treatments targeted toward these cells. The present review is an attempt to conceptualize the role of CSCs in HNSCC—its implication in tumorigenesis and the possible additional approach in current treatment strategies.

Author(s):  
Meriç Bilgiç Küçükgüven ◽  
Betül Çelebi-Saltik

: Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is categorized as the sixth most common cancer worldwide, with an incidence of more than 830,000 cases per year and a mortality rate of 50%. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and Human Papillomavirus infection are the prominent risks for HNSCC. Despite significant developments in the treatment of HNSCC, a high rate of recurrences makes the clinical situation worse and results in poor survival rates. Recent perspectives demonstrate that whereas epithelial transformation plays a crucial role in cancer development, tumor surrounding microenvironment takes part in progression of cancer as well. Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs), which harbor unlimited self-renewal capacity, have a crucial role in the growth of HNSCC and this cell population is responsible for tumor recurrence unless eliminated by targeted therapy. CSCs are not only a promising target for tumor therapy, but also a crucial biomarker to determine the patients at high risk for undetermined results and disease development. Just as the bone marrow which is the niche of hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells, is important for stem cells maintenance. Similarly, the concept of microenvironment is also important for the maintenance of CSCs. Apart from the cell-cell interactions, there are many parameters in the cancer microenvironment that affect the development of cancer, such as extracellular regulation, vascularization, microbial flora, pH and oxygenation. The purpose of this review is to introduce HNSCC, explain the role of CSCs and their microenvironment and refer to the conventional and novel targeted therapy for HNSCC and CSCs.


2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1249-1256 ◽  
Author(s):  
KAZUYA YATA ◽  
LEVENT BEKIR BEDER ◽  
SHUNJI TAMAGAWA ◽  
MUNEKI HOTOMI ◽  
YOSHIHIKO HIROHASHI ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 2516-2527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel A. Kerk ◽  
Kelsey A. Finkel ◽  
Alexander T. Pearson ◽  
Kristy A. Warner ◽  
Zhaocheng Zhang ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Demeng Chen ◽  
Cun-Yu Wang

AbstractHead and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a highly aggressive tumor and the sixth most common cancer worldwide. Current treatment strategies for HNSCC are surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy or combinatorial therapies. However, the overall 5-year survival rate of HNSCC patients remains at about 50%. Cancer stem cells (CSCs), a small population among tumor cells, are able to self-renew and differentiate into different tumor cell types in a hierarchical manner, similar to normal tissue. In HNSCC, CSCs are proposed to be responsible for tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, drug resistance, and recurrence. In this review, we discuss the molecular and cellular characteristics of CSCs in HNSCC. We summarize current approaches used in the literature for identification of HNSCC CSCs, and mechanisms required for CSC regulation. We also highlight the role of CSCs in treatment failure and therapeutic targeting options for eliminating CSCs in HNSCC.


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