Veigas Florencia, Mahmoud Yamil D, Merlo Joaquin, Rinflerch Adriana, Rabinovich Gabriel Adrian, Girotti María Romina
Laboratorio de Inmuno Oncología Traslacional, Instituto of Biología y Medicina Experimental, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires C1428ADN, Argentina.
Laboratorio GIGA, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Químicas y Naturales, Instituto de Biología Subtropical, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, CONICET, Posadas N3300NFK, Misiones, Argentina.
Cancers (Basel). 2021 Mar 1;13(5):1018. doi: 10.3390/cancers13051018.
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.
头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）是一组异质性肿瘤，通常在晚期被诊断出来，预后较差。与其发生相关的主要危险因素包括烟草和酒精消费以及人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）感染。免疫系统在这种癌症类型的肿瘤发生和发展中起着重要作用。值得注意的是，免疫抑制性肿瘤微环境通过多种机制触发免疫逃逸。对实体瘤中抗肿瘤免疫反应以及免疫检查点分子和其他免疫调节因子作用的深入了解，促使了新型治疗策略的发展，这些策略彻底改变了HNSCC的临床管理。然而，免疫治疗的总体反应率有限，这促使人们寻找反应和治疗耐药性的预测生物标志物。在此，我们综述了免疫系统和免疫检查点途径在HNSCC中的作用、与免疫治疗策略相关的最相关临床发现以及反应的预测生物标志物和未来治疗前景。
