The relationship between SC35 and E2F1 in the apoptotic response of head and neck cancer - Essay Example

Head and neck cancer often occurs in individuals older than 45 years. There is also an association of papilloma virus and development of cancer of the head and neck. Cancer often results from exposure to the virus as a consequence of oral-vaginal or oral-anal sex, and there is a correlation between head and neck cancer and sex with more than one person. Conventional treatment of head and neck cancer has utilized radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery. There is a pronounced increase in fatality associated with the development of secondary tumors.

Surgery on head and neck cancer often results in mutilation of the soft tissue, and many times the vocal apparatus must be removed. There has been an increase in the development of head and neck cancer in young people, and this is thought to be attributed to environmental factors including air pollution and other environmental toxins. There is also a rise in head and neck cancer in certain races of people, most pronounced in individuals of Asian origin and people in Eastern Europe. Causative agents of head and neck cancer other than alcohol and tobacco raise concern for the monitoring of environmental parameters associated with the development of disease. . he complex organs and structures of the head and neck often complicate surgery to remove tumors, and surgery can result in the loss of speech and the utilization of alternative airway pathways.

Examination of the molecular makeup of different tumors in the head and neck has indicated that these cancers are often times distinct in origin and therefore require unique treatment. The development of Papilloma virus associated cancer in the cervix requires rupture of the outer skin layer and deposition of the virus in the interior layer of the skin. This is not the case in the mouth and digestive tract. The mucosal layer of these regions is more porous and disruption of the epithelial layer is not required for adherence and establishment of infection.

Many times the presentation of even small tumors is represented as aggressive metastasis by papilloma virus in the interior layers of the mouth and digestive tract (Verkmorken, 2005). Causes of head and neck cancer: molecular biology The majority of head and neck cancer is associated with the inactivation of the tumor suppressor gene p53. Human papilloma virus also plays a role in the development of head and neck cancer and often initiates tumorigenesis through the inactivation of p53. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) also acts in initiation of head and neck cancer.

Another molecular factor in development of tumors is activation of telomerase, the enzyme which extends the length of telomeres and provides for the immortalization of cancer cells. Tumors larger in size than a few millimeters must also establish blood flow to the neoplasia, and therefore vascularization of the tumor area is required. Many new tumors in the head and neck are initiated with a “white patch” at the origin of neoplasia. This whitening is associated