Sammanfattning
Oral cancer occurs in 7-8 per 100,000 inhabitants per year
in Denmark. The average 5-year survival rate is 50 % and
depends on the size of the tumour. In order to find new treatments
there is research in the field of cancer stem cells, their
occurrence, properties and mechanisms of action, as these
cells are thought to be critical to cancer.
Cancer is malignant and uncontrolled cell growth. 90 % of all
cancers are carcinomas arising from healthy epithelial cells.
In adults, stem cells are found in healthy tissues where their
specific cell dividing pattern renews and maintains the tissue.
In cancers, cancer stem cells are found to have similar
characteristics to the normal stem cells, and it is suspected
that cancer stem cells derive from their healthy equivalent.
This makes it difficult to distinguish cancer stem cells from
normal stem cells. Researchers are trying to find combinations
of markers that are unique to cancer stem cells, hoping
to isolate and target treatment against them. In the context
of cancer metastasis there is research in cancer stem cells'
ability to perform epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT),
a process wherein the cell changes phenotype.
Knowledge of the presence and function of stem cells in
malignant tumours is essential for cancer treatment. Cancer
stem cell presence complicates the current therapies and
therefore treatment directed at them may show better results.