Combination Therapy as a Promising Way to Fight Oral Cancer

Abstract

Oral cancer is a highly aggressive tumor with invasive properties that can lead to metastasis and high mortality rates. Conventional treatment strategies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, alone or in combination, are associated with significant side effects. Currently, combination therapy has become the standard practice for the treatment of locally advanced oral cancer, emerging as an effective approach in improving outcomes. In this review, we present an in-depth analysis of the current advancements in combination therapies for oral cancer. The review explores the current therapeutic options and highlights the limitations of monotherapy approaches. It then focuses on combinatorial approaches that target microtubules, as well as various signaling pathway components implicated in oral cancer progression, namely, DNA repair players, the epidermal growth factor receptor, cyclin-dependent kinases, epigenetic readers, and immune checkpoint proteins. The review discusses the rationale behind combining different agents and examines the preclinical and clinical evidence supporting the effectiveness of these combinations, emphasizing their ability to enhance treatment response and overcome drug resistance. Challenges and limitations associated with combination therapy are discussed, including potential toxicity and the need for personalized treatment approaches. A future perspective is also provided to highlight the existing challenges and possible resolutions toward the clinical translation of current oral cancer therapies.

Enhanced anti-glioma activity of annonaceous acetogenins based on a novel liposomal co-delivery system with ginsenoside Rh2

“…Besides, the chemotherapy drugs are mostly cytotoxic drugs, which will cause more serious side effects (Deepak et al., 2023 ; Peña-Corona et al., 2023 ). Therefore, combined administration has attracted more and more attention in anti-tumor research, which can not only reduce the occurrence of drug resistance, improve therapeutic efficacy, but also reduce the incidence of side effects by acting on multiple targets (Li et al., 2023 ; Nguyen et al., 2023 ; Silva et al., 2023 ). Our research group has attempted to combine liver-protective drugs (such as glycyrrhizin, glycyrrhetinic acid, oleanolic acid, diammonium glycyrrhizinate, silymarin, and puerarin) to counteract the toxic effect of ACGs, but no combination has been found that can reduce the toxicity while maintaining the efficacy, and the combination almost invariably significantly reduced the anti-tumor effect of ACGs in vivo and in vitro .…”

Quantification and Quality Control of Triple-Drug Combination Employed for Gastric Ulcer Using Stability-Indicating Selective Rp-HPLC Technique

“…Combination therapy is recommended over mono-drug therapy as a means of reducing treatment time, preventing medication resistance, and improving treatment performance [1]. Although combination therapy was originally suggested in 1950, it has picked up popularity in recent years due to notable advancements regarding the management of conditions such as cancer, diabetes, neurological, metabolic, asthma, cardiovascular, HIV, malaria, and others [2][3][4][5].…”

Depleted-MLH1 Expression Predicts Prognosis and Immunotherapeutic Efficacy in Uterine Corpus Endometrial Cancer: An In Silico Approach

“…Hormone therapy, primarily tailored to hormone receptor-positive cases, contributes to tumor regression and stability, potentially extending survival by several months [13]. Combination therapies can synergistically enhance treatment efficacy and survival rates by incorporating a personalized approach that takes into account individual patient and tumor characteristics [14]. However, metastatic tumors often demonstrate a remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, resulting in resistance to various treatment modalities.…”