Yavrouian Eric J, Sinha Uttam K
Department of Otolaryngology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
ISRN Surg. 2012;2012:715743. doi: 10.5402/2012/715743. Epub 2012 Feb 15.
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a devastating tumor of the upper aerodigestive tract with no significant change in treatment modality or improvement in survival over the last several decades. Biomarkers are important biological molecules that can be utilized in tumor detection, prognosis, and as targeted therapies. There are several important biomarkers and potential targets in the forefront, including biomarkers of tumorigenesis, signal transduction molecules, proteins involved in angiogenesis, and oncogenic viruses. The clinical applications of these biomarkers are in various states from in vitro and in vivo models, phase II and III clinical trials, to accepted modes of treatment in patients with HNSCC. Given the potential improvement in prognosis that biomarkers and their targeted therapies may have on the treatment of HNSCC, their investigation is both important and essential.
头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）是上呼吸道消化道的一种破坏性肿瘤，在过去几十年中治疗方式没有显著变化，生存率也没有提高。生物标志物是重要的生物分子，可用于肿瘤检测、预后评估以及作为靶向治疗。目前有几种重要的生物标志物和潜在靶点处于前沿，包括肿瘤发生的生物标志物、信号转导分子、参与血管生成的蛋白质以及致癌病毒。这些生物标志物的临床应用处于不同阶段，从体外和体内模型、II期和III期临床试验到HNSCC患者已被接受的治疗模式。鉴于生物标志物及其靶向治疗可能对头颈部鳞状细胞癌的治疗预后有潜在改善，对它们的研究既重要又必要。
