Molecular biology of head and neck cancers

Abstract

Head and Neck cancers constitute a real challenge for oncologists across the globe, with one person dying every hour of every day. It can distort and disfigure the face, strip away the voice and rob one of his basic abilities to eat, drink and swallow. The psychosocial impact can be extremely devastating. From previously being considered a homogenous entity, it is now a well recognized fact that Head and Neck cancer is rightly called “Head and neck cancers” in view of their genetic and molecular heterogeneity despite sharing histological and etiological homogeneity. The present review discusses recent insights as well as established principles of the molecular biology of Head and Neck Cancers.

Keywords

• Head and neck cancer
• HPV
• molecular biology