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Cancers
Special Issues
Molecular Targets for Head and Neck Cancer
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Molecular Targets for Head and Neck Cancer

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Cancer Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 10443

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Fatemeh Momen-Heravi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States.
2. Division of Periodontics, Section of Oral, Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Sciences, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, New York, NY, United States.
3. Cancer Biology and Immunology Laboratory, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
Interests: Head and neck cancer; tumor microenvironment; genomic; exosomes; immunotherapy; precision medicine

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Despite the development of different therapeutic modalities, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, survival rates for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have not changed significantly over the past few decades. There is an unmet need for the development of novel molecular-targeted therapies for HNSCC.

Although some targeted therapies such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) monoclonal antibodies, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, and vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors are available for HNSCC, they have limited efficacy with the mechanisms of inherent and acquired resistance of HNSCC tumors remaining unresolved. Especially, as we are now discovering, the poor response to therapy and the aggressive nature of HNSCCs is not only derived from the complex alterations in intracellular signaling of tumor cells but is also significantly influenced by the behavior of the tumor microenvironment. This enhanced understanding provides new opportunities for targeted therapy and exploiting tumor vulnerabilities.

This Special Issue will explore the current state of the art in head and neck precision medicine, molecular targeting options, immunotherapy, and prospects for improving HNSCC therapy.

Dr. Fatemeh Momen-Heravi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • head and neck cancer
  • precision medicine
  • tumor microenvironment
  • molecular targets
  • immunotherapy

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 785 KiB  
Article
Validation of Selected Head and Neck Cancer Prognostic Markers from the Pathology Atlas in an Oral Tongue Cancer Cohort
by Anna Maria Wirsing, Inger-Heidi Bjerkli, Sonja Eriksson Steigen, Oddveig Rikardsen, Synnøve Norvoll Magnussen, Beate Hegge, Marit Seppola, Lars Uhlin-Hansen and Elin Hadler-Olsen
Cancers 2021, 13(10), 2387; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13102387 - 14 May 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2249
Abstract
The Pathology Atlas is an open-access database that reports the prognostic value of protein-coding transcripts in 17 cancers, including head and neck cancer. However, cancers of the various head and neck anatomical sites are specific biological entities. Thus, the aim of the present [...] Read more.
The Pathology Atlas is an open-access database that reports the prognostic value of protein-coding transcripts in 17 cancers, including head and neck cancer. However, cancers of the various head and neck anatomical sites are specific biological entities. Thus, the aim of the present study was to validate promising prognostic markers for head and neck cancer reported in the Pathology Atlas in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC). We selected three promising markers from the Pathology Atlas (CALML5, CD59, LIMA1), and analyzed their prognostic value in a Norwegian OTSCC cohort comprising 121 patients. We correlated target protein and mRNA expression in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded cancer tissue to five-year disease-specific survival (DSS) in univariate and multivariate analyses. Protein expression of CALML5 and LIMA1 were significantly associated with five-year DSS in the OTSCC cohort in univariate analyses (p = 0.016 and p = 0.043, respectively). In multivariate analyses, lymph node metastases, tumor differentiation, and CALML5 were independent prognosticators. The prognostic role of the other selected markers for head and neck cancer patients identified through unbiased approaches could not be validated in our OTSCC cohort. This underlines the need for subsite-specific analyses for head and neck cancer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Targets for Head and Neck Cancer)
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Review

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57 pages, 6188 KiB  
Review
Shooting at Moving and Hidden Targets—Tumour Cell Plasticity and the Notch Signalling Pathway in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas
by Joanna Kałafut, Arkadiusz Czerwonka, Alinda Anameriç, Alicja Przybyszewska-Podstawka, Julia O. Misiorek, Adolfo Rivero-Müller and Matthias Nees
Cancers 2021, 13(24), 6219; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246219 - 10 Dec 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4542
Abstract
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is often aggressive, with poor response to current therapies in approximately 40–50% of the patients. Current therapies are restricted to operation and irradiation, often combined with a small number of standard-of-care chemotherapeutic drugs, preferentially for advanced [...] Read more.
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is often aggressive, with poor response to current therapies in approximately 40–50% of the patients. Current therapies are restricted to operation and irradiation, often combined with a small number of standard-of-care chemotherapeutic drugs, preferentially for advanced tumour patients. Only very recently, newer targeted therapies have entered the clinics, including Cetuximab, which targets the EGF receptor (EGFR), and several immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting the immune receptor PD-1 and its ligand PD-L1. HNSCC tumour tissues are characterized by a high degree of intra-tumour heterogeneity (ITH), and non-genetic alterations that may affect both non-transformed cells, such as cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and transformed carcinoma cells. This very high degree of heterogeneity likely contributes to acquired drug resistance, tumour dormancy, relapse, and distant or lymph node metastasis. ITH, in turn, is likely promoted by pronounced tumour cell plasticity, which manifests in highly dynamic and reversible phenomena such as of partial or hybrid forms of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and enhanced tumour stemness. Stemness and tumour cell plasticity are strongly promoted by Notch signalling, which remains poorly understood especially in HNSCC. Here, we aim to elucidate how Notch signal may act both as a tumour suppressor and proto-oncogenic, probably during different stages of tumour cell initiation and progression. Notch signalling also interacts with numerous other signalling pathways, that may also have a decisive impact on tumour cell plasticity, acquired radio/chemoresistance, and metastatic progression of HNSCC. We outline the current stage of research related to Notch signalling, and how this pathway may be intricately interconnected with other, druggable targets and signalling mechanisms in HNSCC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Targets for Head and Neck Cancer)
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17 pages, 305 KiB  
Review
Recent Research on Combination of Radiotherapy with Targeted Therapy or Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Review for Radiation Oncologists
by Daniel Tao Xing, Richard Khor, Hui Gan, Morikatsu Wada, Tai Ermongkonchai and Sweet Ping Ng
Cancers 2021, 13(22), 5716; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13225716 - 15 Nov 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2909
Abstract
Radiotherapy plays an important role of managing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Concurrent radiotherapy with radiosensitizing cisplastin chemotherapy is the standard of care (SOC) for non-operable locally advanced HNSCC. Cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody of epidermal growth factor receptor, was the most [...] Read more.
Radiotherapy plays an important role of managing head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Concurrent radiotherapy with radiosensitizing cisplastin chemotherapy is the standard of care (SOC) for non-operable locally advanced HNSCC. Cetuximab, a monoclonal antibody of epidermal growth factor receptor, was the most extensively studied targeted therapy as a chemo-sparing agent that was used concurrently with radiotherapy. Immunotherapy is used in the treatment of metastatic HNSCC. There is evidence to support the synergistic effect when combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy to potentiate anti-tumor immune response. There has been increasing interest to incorporate immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) with radiotherapy in the curative setting for HNSCC. In this review, we discuss the latest evidence that supports concurrent radiotherapy with cisplatin which remains the SOC for locally advanced HNSCC (LA-HNSCC). Cetuximab is suitable for patients who are not fit for cisplatin. We then summarize the clinical trials that incorporate ICI with radiotherapy for LA-HNSCC in concurrent, neoadjuvant, and adjuvant settings. We also discuss the potential of combining immunotherapy with radiotherapy as a treatment de-escalating strategy in HPV-associated oropharyngeal carcinoma. Finally, the pre-clinical and clinical evidence of the abscopal effect when combining stereotactic body radiotherapy with ICIs is presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Targets for Head and Neck Cancer)
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