© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 207
A. Birbrair (ed.), Stem Cell Microenvironments and Beyond,
Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology 1041,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-69194-7_11
Chapter 11
Oral Cancer Stem Cells Microenvironment
Prajna Paramita Naik, Prashanta Kumar Panda, and Sujit K. Bhutia
Abstract Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play important role in tumor growth and
metastasis coupled with increased recurrences and acquired therapeutic resistance
in oral cancer. The tumor microenvironment imposes intense pressure in cancer
evolution in response to adverse growth conditions, resource limitation and immune
predation. Here, we discussed the dynamic interplay between cancer stem cells and
tumor microenvironment in the formation of intratumoral heterogeneity to modu-
late tumor progression. The CSCs niche provide a special microhabitat for survival,
maintenance of stemness and tumor re-propagation. Moreover, adaptive cellular
behavior might be driven by tough tumor microenvironmental selective forces
which highly regulate alterations in the gene expression leading to the reprogram-
ming of signaling pathways generating stem-like characteristics, adaptive metabolic
plasticity and energy fueling with autophagy to permit the CSCs to sustain in the
ever changing microenvironments during tumor progression. On the other hand,
CSCs also direct the tumor microenvironment modulation and remodeling in its
favour. The cytokines, chemokines and growth factors released from CSCs regu-
lates neoangiogensis, differentiation, degradation of matrix protein and immune
suppression favoring tumor-promoting conditions and initiates multiple signaling
cascades augmenting the tumor progression.
Keywords Oral cancer • Tumor heterogeneity • Cancer stem cell • Tumor
microenvironment
11.1 Introduction
Oral cancer or oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) accounts for more than 90%
of malignant oral lesions with about 300,000 new cases registered each year
worldwide. According to GLOBOCAN database, the anatomic subsites where the
cancer of oral cavity occurs; includes the base of tongue, palate, nasopharynx,
P.P. Naik • P.K. Panda • S.K. Bhutia (*)
Department of Life Science, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, India
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]