Exosomes at the crossroad between therapeutic targets and therapy resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abolfazl Jangholi; Juliana Müller Bark; Lizbeth Kenny; Sarju Vasani; Sudha Rao; Riccardo Dolcetti; Chamindie Punyadeera

doi:10.1016/j.bbcan.2022.188784

Exosomes at the crossroad between therapeutic targets and therapy resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer. 2022 Sep;1877(5):188784. doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2022.188784. Epub 2022 Aug 24.

Authors

Abolfazl Jangholi¹, Juliana Müller Bark², Lizbeth Kenny³, Sarju Vasani⁴, Sudha Rao⁵, Riccardo Dolcetti⁶, Chamindie Punyadeera⁷

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Biomedical Technologies, The School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia; The School of Environment and Science, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
² The School of Environment and Science, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.
³ Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Cancer Care Services, Herston, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
⁴ Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Cancer Care Services, Herston, Australia; Department of Otolaryngology, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Herston, Australia.
⁵ Gene Regulation and Translational Medicine Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁶ Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia; Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
⁷ The School of Environment and Science, Griffith Institute for Drug Discovery (GRIDD), Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia; Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MIHQ), Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. Electronic address: c.punyadeera@griffith.edu.au.

PMID: 36028150
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2022.188784

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) are aggressive and clinically challenging tumours that require a multidisciplinary management approach. Despite significant therapy improvements, HNSCC patients have a poor prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of about 65%. As recently recognised key players in cancer, exosomes are extracellular vesicles (EVs) with a diameter of nearly 50-120 nm which transport information from one cell to another. Exosomes are actively involved in various aspects of tumour initiation, development, metastasis, immune regulation, therapy resistance, and therapeutic applications. However, current knowledge of the role of exosomes in the pathophysiological processes of HNSCC is still in its infancy, and additional studies are needed. In this review, we summarise and discuss the relevance of exosomes in mediating local immunosuppression and therapy resistance of HNSCC. We also review the most recent studies that have explored the therapeutic potential of exosomes as cancer vaccines, drug carriers or tools to reverse the drug resistance of HNSCC.

Keywords: Drug delivery; Exosomes; HNSCC; Head and neck cancer; Immune modulation; Immunotherapy; Therapy resistance; Vaccines.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Cancer Vaccines*
Drug Carriers
Exosomes* / pathology
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / genetics
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / pathology
Humans
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck / drug therapy

Substances

Cancer Vaccines
Drug Carriers