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Updated: Jul 11, 2026
Isolation and Characterization of a Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Subpopulation Having Stem Cell Characteristics
Published on: May 11, 2016
[Oral squamous cell carcinoma. Case report and review of literature]
Martha Beatriz González-Guevara1, Celia Linares-Vieyra1, Mario Emmanuelle Castro-García1
1Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Xochimilco, Departamento de Atención a la Salud. Ciudad de México, México.
Background:
Squamous cell cancer (SCC) represents 90-95% of all types of cancer. In Mexico, the frequency of oral SCC (OSCC) has increased, with an incidence between 1 and 5%. OSCC is associated with subjects in the 5th and 7th decade of life, males, positive for smoking, alcoholism, genetic factors, immunosuppression, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and unhealthy lifestyles, among others. The objective of this work was to present a clinical case as an example of the emerging characteristics in a patient with OSCC.
Clinical Case:
38-year-old female patient, with indurated ulcer, partially adhered to deep planes and painful, associated with an increase in volume, located on the belly and lateral edge of the tongue. A biopsy was performed and with the histopathological diagnosis of well differentiated invasive squamous cell carcinoma, the presence of HPV was determined, resulting positive for HPV-16. Combined cancer treatment was performed (surgical-radiation-chemotherapy), with good results for the patient regarding aesthetics and function.
Conclusions:
We analyzed several studies evaluating the presence of HPV in lesions of OSCC, as a risk factor that involves more frequently cases of young patients, with location in tongue, and negative antecedents for smoking and alcoholism compared to cases of OSCC not associated with HPV. Data are required to help elucidate various still unknown aspects of oral HPV infection and its relationship with OSCC.
