Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Rogel Cancer Center, Michigan Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Oral Oncol. 2021 Sep;120:105420. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2021.105420. Epub 2021 Jul 1.
Immunotherapy revolutionized cancer treatment but has yet to elicit durable responses in the majority of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). HNSCC is generally characterized by a high tumor mutational burden, which has translated to a large neoantigen load that could prime the immune system to recognize and eliminate malignant cells. Studies are increasingly showing, however, that HNSCC is an "immune desert" tumor that can hijack multiple parts of the tumor immunity cycle in order to evade immune recognition and suppress immune system activation. Herein we will review how HNSCC tumors modulate their architecture, cellular composition, and cytokine milieu to maximize immunosuppression; as well as relevant therapeutic opportunities and emerging issues facing the field of HNSCC immuno-oncology.
免疫疗法彻底改变了癌症治疗，但在大多数头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）患者中尚未产生持久的反应。HNSCC 通常以高肿瘤突变负担为特征，这转化为大量新抗原负荷，可以使免疫系统识别和消除恶性细胞。然而，越来越多的研究表明，HNSCC 是一种“免疫荒漠”肿瘤，可以劫持肿瘤免疫周期的多个部分，以逃避免疫识别并抑制免疫系统激活。本文将综述 HNSCC 肿瘤如何调节其结构、细胞组成和细胞因子微环境以最大限度地抑制免疫；以及 HNSCC 免疫肿瘤学领域面临的相关治疗机会和新出现的问题。
