Niharika Swain

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

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.

Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma of maxilla: A case report and mini review

Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma is a rare odontogenic tumor occurring predominantly in posterior mandible during 5th-7th decades with a female predilection. It is a potentially aggressive tumor, capable of frequent recurrences and loco-regional and distant metastases. Till date, only 73 cases have been reported in the literature. Current case is of a 55-year-old woman with tumor mass extending from canine to molar region on the left maxillary arch. Being locally aggressive tumor with the capacity to metastasize, it demands to be distinguished from other primary and metastatic clear cell tumors of the oral and maxillofacial region. A brief compilation of the reported cases is being attempted in the current article to better understand the behavior of the tumor.

Correlation of trace elemental profiles in blood samples of Indian patients with leukoplakia and oral submucous fibrosis.

In order to ascertain possible correlation between alterations in trace elemental profile and the progression or regression of two most common potentially malignant disorders affecting oral cavity, namely oral submucous fibrosis and leukoplakia, blood from 60 patients from each group of patients as well from 30 healthy individuals was analyzed for elemental profiling employing EDXRF technique. Out of the 16 detected elements (K, Si, Ca, V, Cr, Ni, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Co, and Pb), Mn, Fe, Zn, Br, and Co showed remarkable alteration in their profile in both leukoplakia and oral submucous fibrosis patients with respect to the normal healthy individuals. While Zn, Br, and Fe reflected similar changes—showing gross depletion in both the diseased groups, Mn and Co depicted inverse pattern of alterations in their concentrations in the two types of precancerous disorders when compared to the control subjects.

Podoplanin—a novel marker in oral carcinogenesis

Podoplanin, a transmembrane sialoglycoprotein, is a specific marker for lymphatic endothelial cells which in recent years has gained prominent notoriety for its role in tumor progression and metastasis. It is an extensively studied biomarker for predictive assessment of malignant transformation as well as biologic behavior in both human precancer and cancer, respectively. This review summarizes the association of podoplanin overexpression in oral potentially malignant disorders and oral cancer with special emphasis on its putative role in carcinogenesis as well as its prospective use in targeted therapy.

Primary fibrosarcoma of maxilla in an 8‑year‑old child: A rare entity

Fibrosarcoma (FS) is a malignant mesenchymal neoplasm of the fibroblasts that is uncommon in the head and neck and constitutes less than 1% of malignancies and approximately 6% of the soft tissue sarcomas. FSs rarely occur before the third decade except infantile type. This condition primarily affects long bones, and its occurrence in the cranium is rare (15%), with the mandible being the most commonly involved cranial site. Here a case of primary FS in anterior maxilla of an 8-year-old male child is reported. This article is presented to document the rarity of FSs in the jaws of children with review of literature.

Emphasizing on heat shock protein 90's utility in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma treatment.

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) a member of the heat shock proteins (HSPs) family, is an adenosine triphosphate dependent molecular chaperone protein, which integrates multiple oncogenic pathways. Clinically, encouraging results have been demonstrated in melanoma, acute myeloid leukemia, castrate refractory prostate cancer, non-small cell lung carcinoma and multiple myeloma using the first generation Hsp90 inhibitors. Hsp90 as the target of anticancer activity of geldanamycin sparked much interest in the inhibition of Hsp90 as a strategy for the treatment of cancer. Hsp90 inhibitors demonstrate rapid clearance from normal tissues and the blood compartment with prolonged retention in tumors making it a sought after modality for treating cancer. Our review emphasizes its role as anti-cancer therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Adenosine Deaminase - a Novel Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarker for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

BACKGROUND The number of patients with oral cancer in India is increasing gradually (especially in younger people). Although the diagnostic modalities and therapeutic management of oral cancer are improving, the treatment outcome and prognosis of oral cancer remain poor. The absence of definite early warning symptoms for most head and neck cancers suggests that sensitive and specific biomarkers are likely to be important in screening for high-risk patients. AIMS To analyze serum adenosine deaminase (ADA) levels in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cases who reported to our institute. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective study was performed on 100 histopathologically proven cases of OSCC (study group) and 100 normal healthy individuals (control group). Independent sample and one sample t-tests and one way ANOVA followed by Tuckeys POST HOC test were conducted for analysis. RESULTS Statistically significant increase in serum ADA levels was observed in OSCC cases compared to the control group. Also serum ADA level increased significantly with the histopathological grade. CONCLUSIONS Serum ADA levels in OSCC may be a useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in clinical practice and our findings suggest that a large-scale study is warranted to confirm clinical utility as a prognostic and diagnostic biomarker.

Does entosis curb the detached cancer cells better

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Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor with clear cell changes.

see front matter 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2013.11.010 Cell death can be classified according to its morphological appearance, enzymological criteria, functional or immunological characteristics [1]. The Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) proposed unified criteria for the definition of cell death and of its different morphologies in 2005 with additions made in 2009. It was stated that in the absence of apoptosis, other types of developmental cell death can occur [2]. The one that caught our attention was described by Overholtzer et al., 2007; a new mode of non-apoptotic cell elimination called ‘‘entosis’’ that resembles cell cannibalism and the cell-in-cell phenotype [3]. Though reports of cell-in-cell structures date back to the mid 1800’s, cellular engulfment or ‘‘cell eating cell’’ has been observed in tumor cells recently. Tumor cells possibly use this strange function to feed in conditions of low nutrient supply [4]. Cell-in-cell structures can be formed homotypically, between the same cell type, or heterotypically between different cell types. The heterotypic live cell engulfments involve leukocytes ingested into a variety of host cells such as epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Homotypic live cell engulfment are seen in malignant tumors of breast, lung, gallbladder, and gastric carcinoma, also in metastatic melanoma [5]. The various terminologies used in the literature to describe cell-in-cell structures includes entosis, emperipolesis, cytophagocytosis, and cannibalism (xeno-cannibalism) [6]. Entosis, a non-apoptotic cell death process, that occurs in human tumors presumed to be provoked by loss of attachment to the underlying matrix [7]. It describes a cell death mechanism linked to the ‘cell-in-cell’ phenotype that is frequently exhibited by non-phagocytic cells in clinical tumour samples, consisting of invasion of one live cell into another, followed by degradation of internalized cells by lysosomal enzymes. It is to be considered when all the following conditions are satisfied [8].

Dyskeratosis congenita with malignant transformation.

Adenomatoid odontogenic tumor (AOT) has a limited biological profile and been an attention-grabbing tumor for a century for its origin. Though described earlier, it was widely accepted after Harbitz from Norway reported about this uncommon benign tumor in 1915. There has been a long debate as whether this tumor is a hamartoma or a neoplasm. Here, we present a case of AOT in a 20-year-old female with details of clinical, radiological and histological features along with clear cell changes, signifying AOT to be more aggressive in nature than assessed from earlier literature. Thus, we did an extensive search of PubMed literature on AOT with all its histopathological features associated until date to find the report of clear cell changes yet.