A Literature Review of the Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers of Head and Neck Neoplasms

Heleen Konings; Sofie Stappers; Margot Geens; Benedicte Y De Winter; Kevin Lamote; Jan P van Meerbeeck; Pol Specenier; Olivier M Vanderveken; Kristien J Ledeganck

doi:10.3389/fonc.2020.01020

A Literature Review of the Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers of Head and Neck Neoplasms

Front Oncol. 2020 Jun 26:10:1020. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.01020. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Heleen Konings¹, Sofie Stappers¹, Margot Geens¹, Benedicte Y De Winter², Kevin Lamote^{2

3

4}, Jan P van Meerbeeck^{2

3

4}, Pol Specenier^{5

6}, Olivier M Vanderveken^{1

7

8}, Kristien J Ledeganck²

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
² Laboratorium of Experimental Medicine and Pediatrics and Member of the Infla-Med Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
³ Department of Pneumology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁵ Department of Oncology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.
⁶ Center for Oncological Research (CORE), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
⁷ Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium.
⁸ Department of Translational Neurosciences, Antwerp University, Antwerp, Belgium.

Abstract

Head and neck neoplasms have a poor prognosis because of their late diagnosis. Finding a biomarker to detect these tumors in an early phase could improve the prognosis and survival rate. This literature review provides an overview of biomarkers, covering the different -omics fields to diagnose head and neck neoplasms in the early phase. To date, not a single biomarker, nor a panel of biomarkers for the detection of head and neck tumors has been detected with clinical applicability. Limitations for the clinical implementation of the investigated biomarkers are mainly the heterogeneity of the study groups (e.g., small population in which the biomarker was tested, and/or only including high-risk populations) and a low sensitivity and/or specificity of the biomarkers under study. Further research on biomarkers to diagnose head and neck neoplasms in an early stage, is therefore needed.

Keywords: biomarker; genomics; head and neck neoplasms; metabolomics; microbiomics; proteomics; radiomics; volatomics.

Publication types

Review