• Biomarkers
• CAF-1
• ELISA
• OSCC
• Tumor load

• biomarker
• malignant potential
• prognosis
• vocal fold leukoplakia

• Moderately differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma
• oral squamous cell carcinoma
• osteopontin
• poorly differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma
• well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma

Previous literature has highlighted the mechanisms of molecular toxicity induced by substances such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead, barium and PCBs. The research was carried out on 20 volunteers, all the patients gave their consent to the research: the aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of metals and PCBs in these different matrices (blood and hair), correlating the biochemical data to pathological conditions present, and also to the area in which patients resided. Various quantitative determinations were carried out on samples of blood and hair for 14 heavy metals and on blood samples for 12 PCBs. For the 11 patients the results indicated that blood levels for half of the 14 displayed heavy metals measured considerably higher compared to the reference values, whilst the levels measured in hair evidenced some positive values significantly higher than the maximum reference. Of the 12 PCBs assayed in blood some showed higher positive values compared to the maximum tabular reference (although there is no clear reference quantified in the WHO-2005 report). In the 9 healthy patients heavy metals in the blood were within the expected target range, with those showing positive results (≤ 3 out of 14 heavy metals for each patient) having values only slightly higher than the reference maximum. The levels of 14 heavy metals measured in hair were below thresholds, and levels for the 12 PCBs measured in blood showed negativity or positivity with values close to the minimum benchmarks. The analyses carried out on biological matrices have uncovered important and significant differences between healthy and unhealthy subjects, both qualitative and quantitative differences with respect to heavy metals and PCBs. All patients with head and neck cancer enlisted for the study had heavy metal and PCB blood levels at least twice the maximum reference level. The levels of heavy metals in hair were at least double the maximum reference. In contrast, all healthy volunteers enrolled showed no significant levels for either metals or PCBs.

• Head and neck tumors
• Heavy metals
• Oncogenesis
• PCB

Early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) remains one of the most efficient ways to ensure patient survival and improved quality of life. Although specific biomarkers related to OSCC have been investigated, a useful biomarker that assesses the transition potential of potentially malignant lesion to OSCC remains to be found. Osteopontin (OPN) has been recognized as an important factor in tumorigenesis and their expression in OSCC have been investigated earlier. In the present study, evaluation of OPN expression in premalignant and malignant lesions has been carried out to assess their possible role as a biomarker in the early diagnosis and prognosis of OSCC.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the role of OPN as a biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of OSCC.

The study group consisted of archival paraffin-embedded blocks of ten cases each of varying grades of OSCC, oral epithelial dysplasias and epithelial hyperplasias. Sections were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for the biomarker OPN.

A positive OPN expression was noticed in epithelial dysplasias and SCC arising from the oral epithelium. A progressive increase in the intensity of staining was seen with increasing grades of dysplasias and a decrease in OPN expression with an increase in grades was observed in OSCC.

The expression of OPN in full thickness of epithelium in severe dysplasias, carcinoma in situ, and in the superficial epithelium of OSCC suggest the possibility of considering OPN expression in full epithelial thickness in dysplasias as an indicator for malignant transformation.

• Biomarker
• malignant transformation
• oral dysplasia
• oral squamous cell carcinoma
• osteopontin

Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer in the world. Effective therapeutic modalities such as surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and combinations of each are used in the management of the disease. In most cases, treatment fails to obtain total cancer cure. In recent years, it appears that one of the key determinants of treatment failure may be the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) that escape currently available therapies. CSCs form a small portion of the total tumor burden but may play a disproportionately important role in determining outcomes. CSCs have stem features such as self-renewal, high migration capacity, drug resistance, high proliferation abilities. A large body of evidence points to the fact that CSCs are particularly resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In HNSCC, CSCs have been increasingly shown to have an integral role in tumor initiation, disease progression, metastasis and treatment resistance. In the light of such observations, the present review summarizes biological characteristics of CSCs in HNSCC, outlines targeted strategies for the successful eradication of CSCs in HNSCC including targeting the self-renewal controlling pathways, blocking epithelial mesenchymal transition, niche targeting, immunotherapy approaches and highlights the need to better understand CSCs biology for new treatments modalities.

• Biology
• Head and neck neoplasms
• Oral cancer
• Neoplastic stem cells
• Molecular targeted therapy
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy

• Alternative splicing
• Apoptosis
• BCL2 family
• NGS
• Splice variants

• Osteopontin
• RNA interference
• laryngeal neoplasms
• laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma
• nude mice

• pan-cd44
• cd44-v6
• head and neck cancer
• prognosis

• Biomarkers, Tumor/analysis
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/immunology
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/mortality
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology
• Disease-Free Survival
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/immunology
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/mortality
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology
• Humans
• Hyaluronan Receptors/analysis
• Immunohistochemistry
• Neoplasm Grading
• Neoplasm Staging
• Odds Ratio
• Predictive Value of Tests
• Risk Factors
• Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
• Survival Analysis
• Time Factors

• Cancer stem cells
• HNSCC
• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
• Tumor markers
• Tumorigenesis
• markery nowotworowe
• nowotworowe komórki macierzyste
• nowotworzenie
• raki głowy i szyi

• 10

Cancer stem cells (CSCs), also called “cells that start the tumor,” represent in themselves one of the most topical and controversial issues in the field of cancer research. Tumor stem cells are able to self-propagate in vitro (self-renewal), giving rise both to other tumor stem cells and most advanced cells in the line of differentiation (asymmetric division). A final characteristic is tumorigenicity, a fundamental property, which outlines the tumor stem cell as the only cell able to initiate the formation of a tumor when implanted in immune-deficient mice. The hypothesis of a hierarchical organization of tumor cells dates back more than 40 years, but only in 1997, thanks to the work of John Dick and Dominique Bonnet, was there the formal proof of such an organization in acute myeloid leukemia. Following this, many other research groups were able to isolate CSCs, by appropriate selection markers, in various malignancies, such as breast, brain, colon, pancreas, and liver cancers and in melanoma. To date, however, it is not possible to isolate stem cells from all types of neoplasia, particularly in solid tumors. From a therapeutic point of view, the concept of tumor stem cells implies a complete revision of conventional antineoplastic treatment. Conventional cytotoxic agents are designed to target actively proliferating cells. In the majority of cases, this is not sufficient to eliminate the CSCs, which thanks to their reduced proliferative activity and/or the presence of proteins capable of extruding chemotherapeutics from the cell are not targeted. Therefore, the theory of cancer stem cells can pose new paradigms in terms of cancer treatment. Potential approaches, even in the very early experimental stages, relate to the selective inhibition of pathways connected with self-renewal, or more specifically based on the presence of specific surface markers for selective cytotoxic agent vehicles. Finally, some research groups are trying to induce these cells to differentiate, thus making them easier to remove. For all these reasons, we have collected existing literature on head and neck cancer stem cells that correlate the biological characteristics of this subpopulation of cancer cells with the clinical behavior of tumors.

• cancer stem cells
• head and neck cancer
• tumor markers

• Carcinoma/metabolism
• Carcinoma/pathology
• Carcinoma/therapy
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell
• Cell Transformation, Neoplastic/pathology
• Early Detection of Cancer
• Female
• Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/metabolism
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/therapy
• Humans
• Hyaluronan Receptors/metabolism
• Male
• Neoplasms, Squamous Cell/metabolism
• Neoplasms, Squamous Cell/pathology
• Neoplasms, Squamous Cell/therapy
• Neoplastic Stem Cells/pathology
• Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck

• 10588 Cancer Research UK

• Adult
• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/blood
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/chemistry
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/mortality
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology
• Case-Control Studies
• Female
• Humans
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Mouth Neoplasms/blood
• Mouth Neoplasms/chemistry
• Mouth Neoplasms/mortality
• Mouth Neoplasms/pathology
• Neoplasm Proteins/analysis
• Neoplasm Proteins/blood
• Neoplasm Staging
• Osteopontin/analysis
• Osteopontin/blood
• Prognosis
• RNA, Messenger/metabolism
• Survival Rate

• Head and Neck Neoplasms/classification
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/pathology
• Humans
• Precancerous Conditions/classification
• Precancerous Conditions/pathology
• Prognosis
• Reproducibility of Results
• World Health Organization

• Adult
• Aged
• Diagnostic Errors/prevention & control
• Endoscopy, Digestive System/adverse effects
• Endoscopy, Digestive System/methods
• Esophagitis, Peptic/diagnosis
• Female
• Humans
• Hyperemia/diagnosis
• Hypopharynx/injuries
• Hypopharynx/pathology
• Laryngitis/diagnosis
• Laryngoscopy
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Prospective Studies
• Reproducibility of Results

CD44 splice variants are long-known as being associated with cell transformation. Recently, the standard form of CD44 (CD44s) was shown to be part of the signature of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in colon, breast, and in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). This is somewhat in contradiction to previous reports on the expression of CD44s in HNSCC. The aim of the present study was to clarify the actual pattern of CD44 expression in head and neck epithelia.

Expression of CD44s and CD44v6 was analysed by immunohistochemistry with specific antibodies in primary head and neck tissues. Scoring of all specimens followed a two-parameters system, which implemented percentages of positive cells and staining intensities from − to +++ (score = %×intensity; resulting max. score 300). In addition, cell surface expression of CD44s and CD44v6 was assessed in lymphocytes and HNSCC.

In normal epithelia CD44s and CD44v6 were expressed in 60–95% and 50–80% of cells and yielded mean scores with a standard error of a mean (SEM) of 249.5±14.5 and 198±11.13, respectively. In oral leukoplakia and in moderately differentiated carcinomas CD44s and CD44v6 levels were slightly increased (278.9±7.16 and 242±11.7; 291.8±5.88 and 287.3±6.88). Carcinomas in situ displayed unchanged levels of both proteins whereas poorly differentiated carcinomas consistently expressed diminished CD44s and CD44v6 levels. Lymphocytes and HNSCC lines strongly expressed CD44s but not CD44v6.

CD44s and CD44v6 expression does not distinguish normal from benign or malignant epithelia of the head and neck. CD44s and CD44v6 were abundantly present in the great majority of cells in head and neck tissues, including carcinomas. Hence, the value of CD44s as a marker for the definition of a small subset of cells (i.e. less than 10%) representing head and neck cancer stem cells may need revision.

• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/chemistry
• Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology
• Epithelium/chemistry
• Head
• Head and Neck Neoplasms/chemistry
• Humans
• Hyaluronan Receptors/analysis
• Immunohistochemistry
• Lymphocytes/chemistry
• Neck
• Protein Isoforms
• Tissue Distribution