Current Trends and Future Prospects of Molecular Targeted Therapy in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

In recent years, advances in drug therapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have progressed rapidly. In addition to cytotoxic anti-cancer agents such as platinum-based drug (cisplatin and carboplatin) and taxane-based drugs (docetaxel and paclitaxel), epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (cetuximab) and immune checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibodies (nivolumab and pembrolizumab) have come to be used. The importance of anti-cancer drug therapy is increasing year by year. Therefore, we summarize clinical trials of molecular targeted therapy and biomarkers in HNSCC from previous studies. Here we show the current trends and future prospects of molecular targeted therapy in HNSCC.

The Prognostic Value and Immune Landscapes of a m6A/m5C/m1A-Related LncRNAs Signature in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…Currently, only a small number of HNSCC patients benefit from immunotherapy, and the need to discover new biomarkers to optimize treatment strategies has become increasingly important in clinical practice. With the rise of the application of immune checkpoint inhibitor in tumor treatment, such as Programmed Cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors ( Kitamura et al, 2020 ), there are many ongoing trials in HNSCC that focus on identifying new biomarkers ( Gavrielatou et al, 2020 ). As a member of the B7 superfamily, ICOS is a co-stimulatory receptor for T-cell enhancement.…”

Proteasome inhibition by bortezomib parallels a reduction in head and neck cancer cells growth, and an increase in tumor-infiltrating immune cells

“…The development of new targeted therapies has opened new scenarios for the treatment of solid malignancies 4 , 5 . Therefore, the use of new therapeutic agents is being evaluated in HNC as well 6 – 9 . Current targeted regimen for HNC patients employs epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor(s) and the monoclonal antibody cetuximab 1 , 10 .…”

The Antitumoral Effect of Paris Saponin II on Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas Mediated via the Nitric Oxide Metabolic Pathway

“…In 2018, there were more than 5,80,000 newly diagnosed cases of HNSCC. However, despite advances in therapeutic approaches, survival rates remain poor for patients with HNSCC ( Jung et al, 2020 ; Kitamura et al, 2020 ). More than half of HNSCC patients suffer relapse, and most die from distant metastasis, and lymph nodes metastases play an important role ( Shah et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ).…”