Recent findings on the impact of ErbB receptors status on prognosis and therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Camilla Palumbo; Monica Benvenuto; Chiara Focaccetti; Loredana Albonici; Loredana Cifaldi; Alessandra Rufini; Daniela Nardozi; Valentina Angiolini; Arianna Bei; Laura Masuelli; Roberto Bei

doi:10.3389/fmed.2023.1066021

Recent findings on the impact of ErbB receptors status on prognosis and therapy of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Front Med (Lausanne). 2023 Feb 2:10:1066021. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1066021. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Camilla Palumbo¹, Monica Benvenuto^{1

2}, Chiara Focaccetti¹, Loredana Albonici¹, Loredana Cifaldi^{1

3}, Alessandra Rufini^{2

4}, Daniela Nardozi⁵, Valentina Angiolini⁵, Arianna Bei⁶, Laura Masuelli⁵, Roberto Bei¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Sciences and Translational Medicine, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
² Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, Rome, Italy.
³ Academic Department of Pediatrics (DPUO), Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS), Rome, Italy.
⁴ Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.
⁵ Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
⁶ Medical School, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer type, has often an aggressive course and is poorly responsive to current therapeutic approaches, so that 5-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with advanced disease is lower than 50%. The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) has emerged as an established oncogene in HNSCC. Indeed, although HNSCCs are a heterogeneous group of cancers which differ for histological, molecular and clinical features, EGFR is overexpressed or mutated in a percentage of cases up to about 90%. Moreover, aberrant expression of the other members of the ErbB receptor family, ErbB2, ErbB3 and ErbB4, has also been reported in variable proportions of HNSCCs. Therefore, an increased expression/activity of one or multiple ErbB receptors is found in the vast majority of patients with HNSCC. While aberrant ErbB signaling has long been known to play a critical role in tumor growth, angiogenesis, invasion, metastatization and resistance to therapy, more recent evidence has revealed its impact on other features of cancer cells' biology, such as the ability to evade antitumor immunity. In this paper we will review recent findings on how ErbB receptors expression and activity, including that associated with non-canonical signaling mechanisms, impacts on prognosis and therapy of HNSCC.

Keywords: Cetuximab; EGFR; ErbB receptors; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Publication types

Review