squamous cell carcinoma tagged posts

At left, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma invasive growth, and at right, cancer stem cells (shown in red) in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Credit: Demeng Chen and Cun-Yu Wang/UCLA

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is a highly invasive form of cancer and frequently spreads to the cervical lymph nodes. Currently, cisplatin is the standard therapeutic drug used for people with HNSCC. Yet, more than 50% of people who take cisplatin demonstrate resistance to the drug, and they experience a recurrence of the cancer. The 5-year survival rates remain sorely low and researchers still don’t understand the underlying mechanisms behind head and neck squamous carcinoma.

Cancer stem cells are known to be responsible for tumor formation and development; they also self-renew and tend to ...