Immunotherapeutics for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma stem cells

X Qian; F Leonard; Y Wenhao; H Sudhoff; T K Hoffmann; S Ferrone; A M Kaufmann; A E Albers

doi:10.1007/s00106-020-00819-y

Immunotherapeutics for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma stem cells

HNO. 2020 Feb;68(2):94-99. doi: 10.1007/s00106-020-00819-y.

Authors

X Qian^{1

2

3

4}, F Leonard⁵, Y Wenhao⁴, H Sudhoff⁶, T K Hoffmann⁷, S Ferrone⁸, A M Kaufmann⁹, A E Albers¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Cancer and Basic Medicine (IBMC), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory, Cancer Hospital of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
³ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhejiang Cancer Hospital, Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Department of Nanomedicine, Houston Methodist Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medizinische Fakultät OWL, Klinikum Bielefeld, Universität Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany.
⁷ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
⁸ Department of Surgery, Massachussets General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
⁹ Clinic for Gynecology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.
¹⁰ Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany. andreas.albers@charite.de.

PMID: 31996933
DOI: 10.1007/s00106-020-00819-y

Abstract

Cancer stem cell (CSC)-related therapy resistance has become a new obstacle to the successful application of cancer treatment and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is no exception to this finding. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is highly immune-suppressive, and recently the immune suppression and invasion of HNSCC-CSCs have been characterized. These characteristics have received research and clinical attention because they would enable the stratification of patients into specific cancer subtypes and, consequently, the establishment of new therapeutic approaches with improved efficacy. This review discusses the feasibility of CSC-targeted strategies and their incorporation with nanotechnology to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: Cancer nanomedicine; Cancer stem cell; Cancer vaccine; Immunotherapy; Nanotechnology.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Cell Line, Tumor
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / therapy
Humans
Immunotherapy*
Neoplastic Stem Cells
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck* / therapy