Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are very frequent worldwide, and smoking and chronic alcohol use are recognized as the main risk factors. For oropharyngeal cancers, HPV 16 infection is known to be a risk factor as well. By employing next-generation sequencing, both HPV-positive and negative HNSCC patients were detected as positive for PI3K mutation, which was considered an optimal molecular target. We analyzed scientific literature published in the last 5 years regarding the newly available diagnostic platform for targeted therapy of HNSCC HPV+/-, using HNSCC-derived cell lines cultures and HNSCC pdx (patient-derived xenografts). The research results are promising and require optimal implementation in the management of HNSCC patients.
Keywords: HNSCC; HPV; PI3K; cell lines; patient-derived xenograft models.