Table of Contents

Abstract

Recurrence of tumors despite chemotherapy represents a profound medical condition with cancer of the oral cavity. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been recognized to orchestrate metastasis and facilitate tumor development in oral squamous cell carcinoma via the capability of self-renewal and proliferation to generate downstream progenitor cells and cancer cells. This chapter aims to highlight a detailed critical review of previous literature on putative cancer stem cell pathways for oral carcinoma and draw interest in targeting the most common cancer stem cell markers as a therapeutic regimen for oral cancer preneoplastic tumors, metastasis, and treatment progression. Thus, targeting cancer stem cells may help overcome the tumor spread and therapeutic resistance by reversing the epithelial and EMT (epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition) subpopulations shifts.

Keywords: drug resistance, signaling pathway, crosstalk, therapeutics