scholarly journals Tumor microenvironment and immune evasion in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Areeg Elmusrati ◽  
Justin Wang ◽  
Cun-Yu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Squamous Cell ◽  
Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
High Morbidity ◽  
Advanced Therapies

AbstractHead and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), an aggressive malignancy, is characterized by high morbidity and low survival rates with limited therapeutic options outside of regional surgery, conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, and irradiation. Increasing studies have supported the synergistic role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) in cancer advancement. The immune system, in particular, plays a key role in surveillance against the initiation, development, and progression of HNSCC. The understanding of how neoplastic cells evolve and evade the immune system whether through self-immunogenicity manipulation, or expression of immunosuppressive mediators, provides the foundation for the development of advanced therapies. Furthermore, the crosstalk between cancer cells and the host immune system have a detrimental effect on the TME promoting angiogenesis, proliferation, and metastasis. This review provides a recent insight into the role of the key inflammatory cells infiltrating the TME, with a focus on reviewing immunological principles related to HNSCC, as cancer immunosurveillance and immune escape, including a brief overview of current immunotherapeutic strategies and ongoing clinical trials.

scholarly journals Immune Checkpoints Pathways in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1018
Author(s):  
Florencia Veigas ◽  
Yamil D. Mahmoud ◽  
Joaquin Merlo ◽  
Adriana Rinflerch ◽  
Gabriel Adrian Rabinovich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Immune System ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Squamous Cell ◽  
Immune Checkpoint ◽  
Predictive Biomarkers ◽  
Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Cancer Type

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogeneous group of tumors usually diagnosed at an advanced stage and characterized by a poor prognosis. The main risk factors associated with its development include tobacco and alcohol consumption and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infections. The immune system has a significant role in the oncogenesis and evolution of this cancer type. Notably, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment triggers immune escape through several mechanisms. The improved understanding of the antitumor immune response in solid tumors and the role of the immune checkpoint molecules and other immune regulators have led to the development of novel therapeutic strategies that revolutionized the clinical management of HNSCC. However, the limited overall response rate to immunotherapy urges identifying predictive biomarkers of response and resistance to treatment. Here, we review the role of the immune system and immune checkpoint pathways in HNSCC, the most relevant clinical findings linked to immunotherapeutic strategies and predictive biomarkers of response and future treatment perspectives.

scholarly journals Tumor Microenvironment in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Focus on Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 19-26
Author(s):  
Marzieh Norouzian ◽  
Sima Balouchi-Anaraki
Keyword(s):  
Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Tumor Microenvironment ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Squamous Cell ◽  
Prognostic Markers ◽  
Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes ◽  
Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Infiltrating Lymphocytes

For more progress in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) immuno-oncology, further understanding of interactions between tumor and immune system as well as factors in the tumor microenvironment is required. HNSCC is seriously infiltrated by lymphocytes but is known to be highly immunosuppressive. The aim of this review is to highlight the complexity of tumor microenvironment and tumor- immune cells interaction in the HNSCC, in order to improve understanding of tumorigenesis and disease progression in HNSCC patient and to provide valuable information about prognostic markers. The main goal of this review is to discuss the role of the tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in tumor progression, their cross-talk with other components of the tumor microenvironment as well as their roles in carcinogenesis, metastasis process, treatment, and prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

Role of cytokines in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 1195-1203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Pries ◽  
Stefan Nitsch ◽  
Barbara Wollenberg
Keyword(s):  
Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Squamous Cell ◽  
Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

scholarly journals HOXB7 acts as an oncogenic biomarker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiang Wu ◽  
Jin Li ◽  
Tingyuan Yan ◽  
Xueping Ke ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Head And Neck ◽  
Expression Pattern ◽  
Squamous Cell ◽  
Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Clinicopathological Parameters ◽  
Migration And Invasion ◽  
Connectivity Map

Abstract Background The homeobox gene Homeobox B7 (HOXB7) is overexpressed across a range of cancers and promotes tumorigenesis through varying effects on proliferation, survival, migration and invasion. However, its expression pattern and oncogenic role of HOXB7 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain largely unexplored. Here, we aimed to explore the expression pattern of HOXB7, its clinical significance as well as functional roles in HNSCC. Methods HOXB7 mRNA expression in HNSCC was determined by data mining and analyses from TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) and GEO (Gene Expression Omnibus) datasets. The protein abundance of HOXB7 was measured by immunohistochemistry in 119 primary HNSCC samples and associations between its expression and clinicopathological parameters and patient survival were evaluated. The pro-tumorigenic roles of HOXB7 in HNSCC were further delineated in vitro by loss-of-function assay. And a xenograft tumor model was established in nude mice to assess the role of HOXB7 in tumor growth. Connectivity Map (CMap) analysis was performed to identify bioactive small molecules which might be potential inhibitors for HOXB7. Results Bioinformatics analyses showed that HOXB7 mRNA was significantly overexpressed in 8 independent HNSCC datasets from TCGA and GEO databases. HOXB7 protein was markedly upregulated in HNSCC samples as compared to normal counterparts and its overexpression significantly associated with high pathological grade, advanced clinical stage, cervical node metastasis (P = 0.0195, 0.0152, 0.0300) and reduced overall and disease-free survival (P = 0.0014, 0.0007). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses further revealed HOXB7 as an independent prognostic factor for patients’ overall survival. Moreover, HOXB7 knockdown significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion and induced cell apoptosis in HNSCC cells, and resulted in compromised tumour growth in vivo. Furthermore, CMap (Connectivity map) analysis has identified three potential bioactive small molecule inhibitors (NU-1025, thiamine, vinburnine) for HOXB7 targeted therapy in HNSCC. Conclusions Our findings revealed that overexpression of HOXB7 was associates with tumour aggressiveness and unfavourable prognosis by serving a novel prognostic biomarker in HNSCC. Moreover, HOXB7 might be involved in the development and progression of HNSCC as an oncogene, and thereby might be a potential therapeutic target for HNSCC.

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