How does it do it? With an ancient and ingenious theft.

It browses an archive hidden in our own DNA. It reactivates the same genetic programs that allowed us, as embryos, to build the placenta, invade the uterus, create new blood vessels and temporarily switch off the mother’s immune defenses.

What in the embryo is a project for life, in the tumor becomes a project for survival.

From an immunological point of view, the embryo is a semi-transplant. Half of its DNA is paternal, therefore foreign to the mother. Yet it is not rejected. The placenta and trophoblast create a bubble of tolerance around it that reprograms maternal defenses.

Cancer does exactly the same.

Cancer cells learn to express molecules like PD-L1 and HLA-E. They are powerful STOP signals for T lymphocytes and Natural Killer cells. In practice, they tell the immune system: “I am not a danger”. They create a local immune paralysis.

This insight led to the study by Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.

Researchers engineered a new generation of genetically enhanced Natural Killer cells to break this deception.

NK cells are our first line of defense against viruses and tumors, but they are switched off inside the tumor microenvironment. The new multifunctional platform makes them resistant with 3 combined strategies.

We are still in the preclinical phase, further studies are needed before clinical use, but the message is powerful: to defeat cancer, it is not enough to boost our defenses. We must prevent it from reactivating those ancestral programs born to protect new life and that it has turned into a weapon for its own survival.

Source: Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital – Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/the-perfect-deception-how-cancer-steals-the-manual-of-life-to-survive-2/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/the-perfect-deception-how-cancer-steals-the-manual-of-life-to-survive/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/the-perfect-deception-how-cancer-steals-the-manual-of-life-to-survive/#respond Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:15:37 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=2201

To grow, a tumor must achieve the impossible: convince our immune system NOT to destroy it.

How does it do it? With an ancient and ingenious theft.

It browses an archive hidden in our own DNA. It reactivates the same genetic programs that allowed us, as embryos, to build the placenta, invade the uterus, create new blood vessels and temporarily switch off the mother’s immune defenses.

What in the embryo is a project for life, in the tumor becomes a project for survival.

From an immunological point of view, the embryo is a semi-transplant. Half of its DNA is paternal, therefore foreign to the mother. Yet it is not rejected. The placenta and trophoblast create a bubble of tolerance around it that reprograms maternal defenses.

Cancer does exactly the same.

Cancer cells learn to express molecules like PD-L1 and HLA-E. They are powerful STOP signals for T lymphocytes and Natural Killer cells. In practice, they tell the immune system: “I am not a danger”. They create a local immune paralysis.

This insight led to the study by Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, published in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy.

Researchers engineered a new generation of genetically enhanced Natural Killer cells to break this deception.

NK cells are our first line of defense against viruses and tumors, but they are switched off inside the tumor microenvironment. The new multifunctional platform makes them resistant with 3 combined strategies.

We are still in the preclinical phase, further studies are needed before clinical use, but the message is powerful: to defeat cancer, it is not enough to boost our defenses. We must prevent it from reactivating those ancestral programs born to protect new life and that it has turned into a weapon for its own survival.

Source: Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital – Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy

Head and neck cancer is the 6th most common cancer worldwide, with over half a million new cases every year. We know tobacco, alcohol and HPV play a major role, but science is uncovering a new actor: your oral microbiome.

Your mouth is one of the most complex ecosystems in the body, home to 700 to thousands of species of bacteria, fungi and more.

When this ecosystem loses balance, a state called dysbiosis, it can contribute to cancer development.

Research is moving toward personalized medicine. Your microbiome might be part of it.

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/is-your-mouth-talking-to-cancer/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/is-your-mouth-talking-to-cancer-the-link-between-oral-microbiota-and-head-neck-cancer/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/is-your-mouth-talking-to-cancer-the-link-between-oral-microbiota-and-head-neck-cancer/#respond Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:32:40 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=2191 Is your mouth talking to cancer? The link between oral microbiota and Head & Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancer is the 6th most common cancer worldwide, with over half a million new cases every year. We know tobacco, alcohol and HPV play a major role, but science is uncovering a new actor: your oral microbiome.

Your mouth is one of the most complex ecosystems in the body, home to 700 to thousands of species of bacteria, fungi and more.

When this ecosystem loses balance, a state called dysbiosis, it can contribute to cancer development.

How?

1. Chronic inflammation & immune escape

Certain bacteria release genotoxins, create oxidative stress and modulate both innate and acquired immunity, favoring a pro-tumor microenvironment.

2. The “bad actors”

Recent reviews consistently find higher abundance of Gram-negative species in patients with HNSCC, including Fusobacterium (especially F. nucleatum), Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella, Parvimonas and Peptostreptococcus.

3. The protectors

Not all bacteria are enemies. Corynebacterium and Kingella appear to have a preventive effect, while Bacillus, Lactobacillus and Sphingomonas are associated with a more favorable prognosis.

Why does this matter?

Ninety percent of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas, and tobacco and alcohol can further modify the oral microbiota. Understanding these microbial signatures could lead to non-invasive biomarkers for early diagnosis, prognosis stratification, and even new therapeutic targets that improve response to radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

This is still an evolving field. Dysbiosis alone does not cause cancer, but it interacts with known risk factors. Good oral hygiene, smoking cessation, limiting alcohol, and HPV vaccination remain key preventive tools.

Research is moving toward personalized medicine. Your microbiome might be part of it.

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/is-your-mouth-talking-to-cancer-the-link-between-oral-microbiota-and-head-neck-cancer/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/same-genes-different-habits-different-future/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/same-genes-different-habits-different-future/#respond Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:47:50 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=2188 What you eat and how you move as a kid changes how you grow.

Left: ultra-processed food + screen time + no movement

Right: balanced meals + daily activity + sleep

Same starting point. Not the same outcome 10 years later.

Health is built daily, not overnight.

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/same-genes-different-habits-different-future/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/how-can-i-reduce-the-risk-of-developing-head-and-neck-cancers/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/how-can-i-reduce-the-risk-of-developing-head-and-neck-cancers/#respond Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:40:00 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=2185 Listen ⬇️ and share

#risk #headandneckcancer #stopsmoking #stopdrinking #hpvvaccine

The study found that overall, farmers were less likely to be diagnosed with most cancers. However, farmers had higher-than-expected rates of prostate and lip cancer.

The study suggests that high exposure to some insecticides may increase the risk of aggressive prostate cancer. The higher risk of lip cancer was believed to be mainly due to excess sun exposure and higher rates of chewing tobacco use.

Full article: https://www.kcrg.com/2026/03/13/iowa-cancer-report-finds-farmers-had-fewer-cancers-compared-with-general-population/

Researchers estimated that more than 68,000 men and women in the United States would be diagnosed with head and neck cancers in 2021.

Listen and share ⬇️

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/how-common-are-head-and-neck-cancers/feed/ 0 https://headandnecknetwork.com/chewing-gum-reduces-hpv-and-oral-cancer-associated-bacteria-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma-2/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/chewing-gum-reduces-hpv-and-oral-cancer-associated-bacteria-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma-2/#respond Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:05:20 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=2150  

Emerging data published in Scientific Reports, demonstrates extracts from a bioengineered chewing gum to significantly reduce the levels of 3 microbes associated with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

The medicated chewing gum displayed substantial reductions in oral human papillomavirus (HPV), Porphyromonas gingivalis (P gingivalis), and Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fnucleatum).

The research evaluated a lablab bean–derived chewing gum containing the antiviral lectin (FRIL), for microbial loads in oral samples from patients with HNSCC. The goal was to asses HPV, Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum, which have been implicated in tumor progression.

The data analyzed saliva and oral rinse samples from patients with HNSCC and compared microbial levels following exposure to the investigational chewing gum extract.

Following treatment with the bean-derived lectin formulation, HPV levels were reduced by approximately 93% and 80% in saliva and oral rinse samples, respectively. The effect is attributed to FRIL-mediated binding of viral glycoproteins, which promotes aggregation and reduces viral availability for host cell entry.

Full article: https://www.pharmacytimes.com/view/emerging-data-shows-chewing-gum-reduces-hpv-and-oral-cancer-associated-bacteria-in-hnscc

The authors report that disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) attributable to alcohol-related lip and oral cavity cancers reached 1,191,084 in 2021, up from 628,484 in 1990 — an increase of about 90 per cent over the period.

Southeast Asia recorded the sharpest increases, with DALYs up 326% and deaths up 357% since 1990.

The authors project that from 2022 to 2045 the burden will continue to climb, especially among men.  

The study team, led by Suzhou Stomatological Hospital in China, urges targeted action in low- and middle-income countries: lifestyle interventions, earlier screening and optimized resource allocation to curb future burden.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization classifies alcohol as an established carcinogen and estimates that in 2019 alcohol caused 2.6 million deaths worldwide. In the same year, 4.4% of cancers diagnosed globally and 401,000 cancer deaths were attributable to alcohol consumption.

headandneckcancer, lipcancer, oralcancer, alcohol