Functional characterisation of patient derived single cell spheroids from OralSquamous Cell Carcinoma to decipher clinical heterogeneity: A Tool for drug Screening andRadiation Sensitivity

Head and neck cancer is a collective term for cancers that arise in the lips, oral cavity, salivary glands, pharynx, larynx and trachea. It remains among the ten most common malignancies worldwide with higher rankings in developing countries. In India, 30% of cancers are head and neck malignancies with almost 200,000 new cases and 122,000 estimated deaths as per GLOBOCAN India, 2018. From the GLOBOCAN 2018 report, it is clear that HNSCC cancer occurrence is less common worldwide but it’s very common in India with 20–30% deaths. Oral cavity cancer and lip cancer ranked 2^nd among all the cancer types in the Indian population. Studies indicate that tobacco abuse is a common risk factor along with alcohol consumption and HPV susceptibility. According to the Indian tobacco factsheet 2018, almost 28.6% of the adults in India are tobacco users, out of which ≈ 10% are smokers, and ≈ 20% consume smokeless tobacco. Chewing betel quid with tobacco has been demonstrated as a risk factor of oral cavity cancer.