Acquisition of Cancer Stem Cell Behaviour Plays a Role in Drug Resistance to Combination Chemotherapy and Prognosis in Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

Hep-2 P: Hep-2 parental cell line; Hep-2 TPFR: Taxol, platinum & 5-Flurouracil resistant cell line; CAL-27 P: CAL-27 parental cells; CAL-27 TPFR: CAL-27 taxol, platinum & 5-Flurouracil resistant cell line The initial tumour response and subsequent relapse points out to the presence of heterogeneous groups of cells within the tumour [6]; one of them being the drug resistant subset of Tumour Initiating Cells (TICs) or the cancer stem cells (CSCs) [7-9]. CSCs have been implicated in drug resistance primarily mediated by over-expression of drug efflux protein (MDR and ABC family genes) [10], dysregulation