Isolation and Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells from Primary Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tumors

Hong S Kim; Alexander T Pearson; Jacques E Nör

doi:10.1007/978-1-4939-3347-1_14

Isolation and Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells from Primary Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Tumors

Methods Mol Biol. 2016:1395:241-9. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-3347-1_14.

Authors

Hong S Kim¹, Alexander T Pearson^{2

3}, Jacques E Nör^{4

5

6

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Restorative Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
² Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
³ Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁴ Department of Restorative Sciences, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. [email protected].
⁵ Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. [email protected].
⁶ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Michigan College of Engineering, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. [email protected].
⁷ Department of Otolaryngology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, 1011 N. University Rm. 2309, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1078, USA. [email protected].

Abstract

Drug resistance remains a significant problem in the treatment of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Recent reports showed that a subpopulation of highly tumorigenic cells, called cancer stem cells (CSCs), is uniquely resistant to chemotherapy, suggesting that these cells play an important role in the relapse of HNSCC. The development of methods for the isolation and culture of cancer stem cells is a key step to enable studies exploring the mechanisms underlying the role of these cells in chemoresistance. Here, we describe a method to isolate cancer stem cells from primary head and neck tumors and for the generation of orospheres.

Keywords: Cancer stem cells; Chemoresistance; Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; Multipotency; Orospheres; Self-renewal.

MeSH terms

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / pathology*
Cell Separation / methods*
Head and Neck Neoplasms / pathology*
Humans
Neoplastic Stem Cells / pathology*

Abstract

MeSH terms

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