Modur Vishnu, Thomas-Robbins K, Rao Krishna
SIU School of Medicine, Springfield, IL USA 62702.
Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2015 Jan 1;7(1):58-66. doi: 10.2741/E717.
Cisplatin (DNA intercalator), a standard chemotherapy drug often used to treat head and neck squamous cellular carcinoma (HNSCC) has very low response rates in recurrent disease of HNSCC, this is a major clinical problem today. However, a valuable window to look in to the underlying molecular aspects of a favorable and unfavorable cisplatin response is offered by a distinct disease entity in HNSCC - HPV+ OPSCC. It responds far more favorably to cisplatin than non-HPV driven HNSCC. Another intriguing aspect of head and neck cancer biology is the emergence of the CD44+ cancer stem cell - the tumor initiating population that in all likelihood is the root cause of therapeutic resistance. The critical question is, are there any differences between the CD44+ CSC population of an HPV+ OPSCC and a non-HPV HNSCC? In this regard, the inverse relation between EGFR levels and HPV status in OPSCC may be a common thread that connects the better response rates of HPV+ OPSCC with the contribution of CD44+ stem cells of HNSCC to chemoresistance.
顺铂（DNA嵌入剂）是一种常用于治疗头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）的标准化疗药物，但在HNSCC复发性疾病中的反应率非常低，这是当今一个主要的临床问题。然而，HNSCC中的一种独特疾病实体——人乳头瘤病毒阳性口咽鳞状细胞癌（HPV+OPSCC）为研究顺铂反应良好和不良的潜在分子机制提供了一个有价值的切入点。它对顺铂的反应比非HPV驱动的HNSCC要好得多。头颈癌生物学的另一个有趣方面是CD44+癌症干细胞的出现，这一肿瘤起始群体很可能是治疗耐药的根本原因。关键问题是，HPV+OPSCC的CD44+癌症干细胞群体与非HPV HNSCC之间是否存在差异？在这方面，OPSCC中表皮生长因子受体（EGFR）水平与HPV状态之间的负相关关系可能是一条共同线索，它将HPV+OPSCC更好的反应率与HNSCC的CD44+干细胞对化疗耐药性的影响联系起来。
