Cellular cannibalism in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) refers to a phenomenon where cancer cells engulf and consume other cells within the tumor, often considered a marker of aggressive tumor behavior, indicating a high potential for invasion and metastasis; essentially, the cancer cells “eat” each other to survive and proliferate in harsh conditions within the tumor microenvironment. Cannibalism is a completely different entity than phagocytosis, entosis, and emperipolesis. It is an important morphologic feature to distinguish benign from malignant lesions. Cannibalism has been described in various cancers such as bladder cancer, breast cancer, and lung cancer, and this is related to the aggressiveness of the malignancy.
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