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Review
. 2013 Sep;49(9):845-853.
doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2013.05.013. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Salivary gland cancer stem cells

April Adams  1 , Kristy Warner  1 , Jacques E Nör  2
Affiliations
Review

Salivary gland cancer stem cells

April Adams et al. Oral Oncol. 2013 Sep.

Abstract

Emerging evidence suggests the existence of a tumorigenic population of cancer cells that demonstrate stem cell-like properties such as self-renewal and multipotency. These cells, termed cancer stem cells (CSC), are able to both initiate and maintain tumor formation and progression. Studies have shown that CSC are resistant to traditional chemotherapy treatments preventing complete eradication of the tumor cell population. Following treatment, CSC are able to re-initiate tumor growth leading to patient relapse. Salivary gland cancers are relatively rare but constitute a highly significant public health issue due to the lack of effective treatments. In particular, patients with mucoepidermoid carcinoma or adenoid cystic carcinoma, the two most common salivary malignancies, have low long-term survival rates due to the lack of response to current therapies. Considering the role of CSC in resistance to therapy in other tumor types, it is possible that this unique sub-population of cells is involved in resistance of salivary gland tumors to treatment. Characterization of CSC can lead to better understanding of the pathobiology of salivary gland malignancies as well as to the development of more effective therapies. Here, we make a brief overview of the state-of-the-science in salivary gland cancer, and discuss possible implications of the cancer stem cell hypothesis to the treatment of salivary gland malignancies.

Keywords: Adenoid cystic carcinoma; Chemoresistance; Mucoepidermoid carcinoma; Perivascular niche; Tumor initiating cells.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of a salivary gland indicating putative areas of origin for mucoepidermoid carcinomas and adenoid cystic carcinomas. Adapted by authors from Bell et al. Salivary gland cancers: biology and molecular targets for therapy. Curr Oncol Rep 2012;14(2):166–174.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of two prevailing hypotheses for tumorigenesis, i.e. the cancer stem cell hypothesis and the tumor-initiating cell hypothesis. Adapted by authors from Reya et al. Stem cells, cancer, and cancer stem cells. Nature 2001;414(6859):105–111.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photomicrographs of spheres formed by mucoepidermoid carcinoma cells at passage 62 or 87 cultured in ultra-low attachment plates indicating the existence of cells exhibiting stem-like behavior in this cell line.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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