Head and neck cancer: the possible role of stem cells.

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.