Head and neck cancer organoids: a panoramic perspective from basic construction to clinical translation

Head and neck cancer (HNC), which refers to a heterogeneous group of malignancies, is a serious threat to human health. Its pathogenesis is complex, and the treatment faces many challenges. As an emerging in vitro three-dimensional (3D) model in recent years, organoids can highly mimic the structure and function of the source organs, which show unique advantages in the study of HNC. Patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) can not only be used to explore the mechanism of tumor occurrence and development, but also provide a personalized drug sensitivity detection platform for precision medicine. Herein, we review the construction and application of HNC organoids and organoids-on-chips, discuss the advancement and effectiveness of this technology, the shortcomings and development direction of existing technologies in HNC field, hoping to provide reference for its further research and clinical transformation, and looking forward to its broad prospects in overcoming the difficult problems of HNC.