Mordzińska-Rak Aleksandra, Telejko Ilona, Adamczuk Grzegorz, Trombik Tomasz, Stepulak Andrzej, Błaszczak Ewa
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, 1 Chodzki Street, 20-093 Lublin, Poland.
Independent Medical Biology Unit, Faculty of Pharmacy, Medical University of Lublin, 8b Jaczewski Street, 20-093 Lublin, Poland.
Biomedicines. 2025 Apr 25;13(5):1046. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines13051046.
Head and neck cancers (HNCs), particularly head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), are among the most aggressive and prevalent malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract. As the incidence of HNCs continues to rise, this cancer type presents a significant public health challenge. Despite conventional treatment options, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the five-year survival rates remain relatively low due to resistance to these therapies, local recurrence, local lymph node metastasis, and in some advanced cases also distant metastasis. Consequently, patients with HNCs face a high mortality risk and have reduced quality of life due to the side effects of chemo- and radiotherapy. Furthermore, targeted therapies and immunotherapies have also shown limited effectiveness in many cases, with issues related to resistance and the accessibility of these treatments. Therefore, new strategies, such as those based on combination therapies and nanotechnology, are being explored to improve the treatment of HNC patients. The proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) also emerged as a promising therapeutic approach, though research is still ongoing to bring this technology into clinical practice. Here, we aim to highlight the current knowledge of HNC therapies, with a focus on recent advancements, including nanomedicine and PROTAC-based strategies. The development and advancement of novel emerging therapies hold promise for the improvement of patients' survival and quality of life.
头颈癌（HNCs），尤其是头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC），是上呼吸道消化道最具侵袭性和最常见的恶性肿瘤之一。随着头颈癌发病率持续上升，这种癌症类型带来了重大的公共卫生挑战。尽管有手术、化疗和放疗等传统治疗选择，但由于对这些疗法的耐药性、局部复发、局部淋巴结转移，以及在一些晚期病例中还存在远处转移，五年生存率仍然相对较低。因此，头颈癌患者面临着较高的死亡风险，并且由于化疗和放疗的副作用，生活质量下降。此外，在许多情况下，靶向治疗和免疫治疗也显示出有限的疗效，存在与耐药性和这些治疗的可及性相关的问题。因此，正在探索新的策略，如基于联合疗法和纳米技术的策略，以改善头颈癌患者的治疗。蛋白水解靶向嵌合体（PROTACs）也作为一种有前景的治疗方法出现，尽管仍在进行研究以将该技术应用于临床实践。在此，我们旨在强调头颈癌治疗的当前知识，重点关注包括纳米医学和基于PROTAC的策略在内的最新进展。新型新兴疗法的发展和进步有望改善患者的生存率和生活质量。
