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Head and neck cancer: the possible role of stem cells

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Abstract

There is a rising interest in the field of oncology in order to understand if cancer stem cells can play a key role also in the pathogenesis of head and neck tumors. It is likely that cancer stem cells are a minor population of tumor cells that possess the stem cell property of self-renewal. In addition, dysregulation of stem cell self-renewal is a likely requirement for the development of cancer. This new model for cancer will have significant ramifications for the way we will study and treat tumors. The authors are proposing a discussion of this topic, which, in their opinion, need to be further investigated in the ENT field.

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Acknowledgment

The oncological project of the ENT Clinic and of the Molecular Biology Section at the University of Ferrara is also supported by a grant for scientific research from the CARIFE Foundation and by a grant for scientific research from the University of Ferrara.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ENT Department, University Hospital of Ferrara, C.so Giovecca 203, 44100, Ferrara, Italy

    C. Bianchini, A. Ciorba, S. Pelucchi, R. Piva & A. Pastore

  2. Molecular Biology Section, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    R. Piva

Authors
  1. C. Bianchini
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  2. A. Ciorba
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  3. S. Pelucchi
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  4. R. Piva
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  5. A. Pastore
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Correspondence to C. Bianchini.

Additional information

Bianchini and Ciorba have equally contributed to the paper.

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Bianchini, C., Ciorba, A., Pelucchi, S. et al. Head and neck cancer: the possible role of stem cells. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 265, 17–20 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-007-0478-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-007-0478-7

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