Molecular Determinants Of Head And Neck Cancer (current Cancer Research)
by Barbara Burtness /
2014 / English / PDF
5.9 MB Download
Squamous cell cancers of the head and neck (SCCHN), also known as
head and neck cancers (HNC) encompass malignancies of the oral
cavity, larynx, nasopharynx and pharynx, and are diagnosed in over
500,000 patients worldwide each year, accounting for 5% of all
malignancies. In the past several years, there have been
significant developments in understanding of HNC. It is now
recognized that although alcohol and tobacco use has
represented the likely predominant cause of SCCHN, the incidence of
a second class of SCCHN related to oncogenic human papillomavirus
(HPV) infection is increasing, with a four-fold increase in the
past 2 decades, and now thought to represent up to 30% of
cases. The first effective target for SCCHN, the
EGFR-targeting antibody cetuximab, was approved as recently as in
2006; since then, a growing body of research has identified
additional signaling pathways as important in disease pathogenesis,
and in resistance to treatment. Proteins such as c-Met,
Src, and HER2 are emerging as new therapeutic targets, with a
considerable ferment in the clinical trial community. As a capstone
of research progress, 2011 marked the first reports of high
throughput sequencing of SCCHN tumors, with these efforts
identifying unexpected players such as Notch as frequent subject of
mutation, spawning new hypotheses for future research. This book
will be of interest to researchers who are interested in
better understanding the biology of head and neck cancers, with the
goals of better designing therapies, identifying risk factors, or
investigating the molecular basis of the disease.
Squamous cell cancers of the head and neck (SCCHN), also known as
head and neck cancers (HNC) encompass malignancies of the oral
cavity, larynx, nasopharynx and pharynx, and are diagnosed in over
500,000 patients worldwide each year, accounting for 5% of all
malignancies. In the past several years, there have been
significant developments in understanding of HNC. It is now
recognized that although alcohol and tobacco use has
represented the likely predominant cause of SCCHN, the incidence of
a second class of SCCHN related to oncogenic human papillomavirus
(HPV) infection is increasing, with a four-fold increase in the
past 2 decades, and now thought to represent up to 30% of
cases. The first effective target for SCCHN, the
EGFR-targeting antibody cetuximab, was approved as recently as in
2006; since then, a growing body of research has identified
additional signaling pathways as important in disease pathogenesis,
and in resistance to treatment. Proteins such as c-Met,
Src, and HER2 are emerging as new therapeutic targets, with a
considerable ferment in the clinical trial community. As a capstone
of research progress, 2011 marked the first reports of high
throughput sequencing of SCCHN tumors, with these efforts
identifying unexpected players such as Notch as frequent subject of
mutation, spawning new hypotheses for future research. This book
will be of interest to researchers who are interested in
better understanding the biology of head and neck cancers, with the
goals of better designing therapies, identifying risk factors, or
investigating the molecular basis of the disease.