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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Therapy Testing in a Spheroid-based 3D Cell Culture Model for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Published on: April 20, 2018
Molecular biology of head and neck cancer: risks and pathways
Michael E Stadler1, Mihir R Patel, Marion E Couch
1Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7070, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Abstract:
Patients present with a differential baseline risk of cancer based on normal and expected variations in genes associated with cancer. The baseline risk of developing cancer is acted on throughout life as the genome of different cells interacts with the environment in the form of exposures (eg, toxins, infections). As genetic damage is incurred throughout a lifetime (directly to DNA sequences or to the epigenome), events are set in motion to progressively disrupt normal cellular pathways toward tumorigenesis. This article attempts to characterize broad categories of genetic aberrations and pathways in a manner that might be useful for the clinician to understand the risk of developing cancer, the pathways that are disrupted, and the potential for molecular-based diagnostics.
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