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Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment
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Immunotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and rare head and neck malignancies

Stefano Cavalieri1,2, Daria Maria Filippini1, Arianna Ottini1

  • 1Head and Neck Cancer Medical Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori di Milano, via Venezian 1, 20133 Milan, Italy.

Exploration of Targeted Anti-Tumor Therapy
|September 1, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Immunotherapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), offers new hope for recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This review summarizes current immunotherapy applications and future directions for HNSCC treatment.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has a poor prognosis.
  • Advances in understanding HNSCC genomics and immune responses have enabled novel therapeutic strategies.
  • Cytotoxic chemotherapy has limitations, driving the need for alternative treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the current role of immunotherapy in managing R/M HNSCC.
  • To discuss future perspectives for immunotherapy in HNSCC.
  • To present updated immunotherapy data for other R/M head and neck cancers.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of clinical practice and research data.
  • Analysis of immunotherapy outcomes in R/M HNSCC.
  • Inclusion of data from related head and neck malignancies.

Main Results:

  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have significantly improved outcomes for R/M HNSCC patients.
  • ICIs represent a paradigm shift from traditional cytotoxic therapies.
  • Immunotherapy shows promise for early-stage HNSCC as well.

Conclusions:

  • Immunotherapy, particularly ICIs, is a vital treatment modality for R/M HNSCC.
  • Further research is needed to optimize immunotherapy strategies and explore its potential in earlier disease stages.
  • Expanding immunotherapy applications to other head and neck cancers is an active area of investigation.
Keywords:
Head and neck cancerimmune checkpoint inhibitorsrare cancer

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