Cancer stem cells in solid tumors are a "rare" group of cells and
their role in carcinogenesis has been proven during the past few
years. The pursuit for specific oral epithelial stem cell surface
markers leads to the identification of markers su
ch as CD44
and Bmi-1. The combination between CD44 which has been
considered a potential prognostic marker for cancer stem cells in
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC), and Bmi-1
the pluripotency stemness marker may lead to identify the cells
sharing the properties of both markers and could give a closer look
into its appearance and density in the tissue. The aim of this study
was to study the percent of cells stained positive for both markers
and the histological grade of (HNSCC) and the anatomic location
of the tumor. Statistical analysis showed that higher density of
positive stained cells for both markers was in the severe grade of
the tumor, whereas the second higher ratio was in the mild grade
then the moderate , there was no significant association between the density of cells and the anatomical location. Our results suggest that the two markers together could be used as prognostic factors for patients with even mild grade SCC, which might help in prediction of recurrence.
