squamoscellcarcinoma – Head and Neck Network https://headandnecknetwork.com Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:27:51 +0000 it-IT hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://headandnecknetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/cropped-favicon-32x32.jpg squamoscellcarcinoma – Head and Neck Network https://headandnecknetwork.com 32 32 CHEWING GUM REDUCES HPV AND ORAL CANCER-ASSOCIATED BACTERIA IN HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA https://headandnecknetwork.com/chewing-gum-reduces-hpv-and-oral-cancer-associated-bacteria-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/chewing-gum-reduces-hpv-and-oral-cancer-associated-bacteria-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/#respond Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:27:51 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=2099 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

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/chewing-gum-reduces-hpv-and-oral-cancer-associated-bacteria-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/feed/ 0 LINDA RATHBUN’S STORY https://headandnecknetwork.com/linda-rathbuns-story/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/linda-rathbuns-story/#respond Mon, 02 Mar 2026 11:26:08 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1969 “I had always been able to handle the physical demands of my jobs and hobbies, but over the years, I started to experience some annoying symptoms: coughing, acid reflux, and weird sensations in my throat. I saw many doctors to try to get my symptoms under control and figure out what was causing them. I started feeling tired and had trouble chewing food as well, but no one could tell me what the exact problem was.

I went to a trusted ear, nose, and throat doctor. He sent me for an MRI, and when the results came back, I was surprised to learn I had stage IV squamous cell carcinoma, a type of head and neck cancer.

My care plan involved seven weeks of treatment. I was scheduled to receive chemotherapy once a week and radiation five days a week.

Unfortunately, I had a really tough time during these treatments and experienced a lot of side effects. I had brain fog, high levels of pain, and trouble eating (which made it difficult to keep weight on).

My mantra during my treatment was “kick it like a boss.” I knew I was not ready to die, and no matter how rough it got, I was determined to fight. I was still in treatment on my birthday, and my friend got me a birthday cake with “kick it like a boss” written on top! I loved it, but I couldn’t eat it at the time. Instead, I froze it to enjoy when I finished my treatments and started feeling better.

I tell people if you are going on this journey, you should not compare yourself to anyone else. Every cancer is different, and every person’s situation is different. Whatever you are facing, try to kick it like a boss!”

Full story ➡️ https://www.foxchase.org/patient-stories/linda-rathbun

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/linda-rathbuns-story/feed/ 0 Current status and perspective of immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma https://headandnecknetwork.com/current-status-and-perspective-of-immunotherapy-for-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/current-status-and-perspective-of-immunotherapy-for-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/#respond Mon, 09 Feb 2026 10:59:17 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1941 Current status and perspective of immunotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Introduction:
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), has still a high mortality rate even if several multimodal treatments have been developed in the advanced stages.

Areas covered:

In recent years, immunotherapy was introduced for the treatment of advanced and metastatic HNSCC with favorable effects on survival and quality of life. Currently, pembrolizumab plus or less chemotherapy is recommended in patients with CPS > 1 in metastatic HNSCC, while nivolumab is used in the second line setting for platinum-refractory disease. However, despite the benefits of these agents, most patients progress after immunotherapy. New approaches to overcome HNSCC immune escape are ongoing, involving antibodies against other immunological locks such as LAG-3, TIGIT, TIM-3, and CD134 (OX40). Moreover, T-lymphocyte activators like GITR and vaccine strategies based on peptides, DNA and RNA against HPV-positive HNSCCs, tumor-associated antigens, dendritic cells, and personalized cancer vaccines have been recently developed.

Expert opinion

Future research is crucial to determine the optimal setting for treatment with immunological checkpoint inhibitors further new prognostic biomarkers. This review discusses both completed and ongoing clinical trials with PD-1/PDL-1 and new checkpoint inhibitors and immunotherapies. It also addresses mechanisms of resistance to immunotherapy, potential therapeutic strategies to overcome this resistance, biomarkers and side effects.

Pasquale Vitale, Ilaria Di Giovanni, Chiara Tammaro, Roberta Spedaliere, Evzen Amler, Alois Necas, Marianna Scrima, Michele Caraglia & Raffaele Addeo

Full article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13543784.2026.2627205

Link Pubmed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41634980/

 

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/current-status-and-perspective-of-immunotherapy-for-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/feed/ 0 HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA https://headandnecknetwork.com/head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/#respond Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:58:45 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1935 Squamous cell carcinoma is a cancer that arises from cells called squamous cells.

The strongest risk factors are:

  • tobacco
  • alcohol consumption
  • infection of human papillomavirus (HPV)

Early diagnosis can save your live!

Listen 👆 and share

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/feed/ 0 A New Era of Immunotherapy in the Treatment of Locally Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma https://headandnecknetwork.com/a-new-era-of-immunotherapy-in-the-treatment-of-locally-advanced-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/a-new-era-of-immunotherapy-in-the-treatment-of-locally-advanced-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/#respond Fri, 02 Jan 2026 09:53:57 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1886 The standard of care for locally advanced HNSCC has remained unchanged for decades.

However, 2 landmark studies presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting may signal a pivotal shift in the management of locally advanced, resectable HNSCC.

Key Points:

  • The standard of care for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has remained unchanged for decades, but 2 landmark studies presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting may signal a pivotal shift in the management of this disease.
  • In the NIVOPOSTOP trial, the addition of nivolumab to postoperative cisplatin-based chemoradiation significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with resected, high-risk, locally advanced HNSCC.
  • Data from the KEYNOTE-689 trial show that perioperative pembrolizumab in patients with resectable, locally advanced HNSCC significantly improved median event-free survival (EFS) when added to standard-of-care surgery and chemoradiation.

The NIVOPOSTOP and KEYNOTE-689 trials represent a breakthrough in the management of resected, locally advanced HNSCC, marking the first phase 3 evidence to show meaningful improvements in DFS and EFS with the addition of immune checkpoint inhibitors to standard treatment.

Authors: Maria A. Velez, MD; Coral Olazagasti, MD; and Ana Velazquez, MD, FASCO

Full article: https://dailynews.ascopubs.org/do/new-era-immunotherapy-treatment-locally-advanced-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/a-new-era-of-immunotherapy-in-the-treatment-of-locally-advanced-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma/feed/ 0 Comparison of PD-L1 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma among preoperative biopsy, surgical resection and metastatic lymph node https://headandnecknetwork.com/comparison-of-pd-l1-expression-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma-among-preoperative-biopsy-surgical-resection-and-metastatic-lymph-node/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/comparison-of-pd-l1-expression-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma-among-preoperative-biopsy-surgical-resection-and-metastatic-lymph-node/#respond Mon, 27 Oct 2025 12:13:31 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1753 Comparison of PD-L1 expression in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma among preoperative biopsy, surgical resection and metastatic lymph node

Background: The interpretation of PD-L1 expression in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has recently emerged as a component of companion diagnostics, essential in identifying candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). However, evaluating PD-L1 expression using the combined positive score (CPS) and tumor proportion score (TPS) has posed challenges, particularly in selecting appropriate specimens and determining hotspots for measurement.

Methods: This study included 68 HNSCC cases from the oropharynx and tongue, collecting complete sets of preoperative biopsy, surgical resection, and metastatic lymph node samples. PD-L1 22C3 staining was performed on each 204 samples to assess PD-L1 expression. The CPS and TPS were measured in all samples using QuPath, an open-source bioimage analysis tool. Statistical comparisons of CPS and TPS among the three specimen types were conducted using Kruskal-Wallis test.


Results: Significant discrepancies were observed in both CPS and TPS between biopsy and surgical resection (p <0.01, respectively), as well as in both CPS and TPS between resection and metastatic lymph node (p <0.01, respectively). However, no significant statistical differences were observed between the biopsy and metastatic lymph node.

Conclusions: Our analysis highlights the heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression across different specimen types. Significant variability exists between the preoperative biopsy and surgical resection, and between surgical resection and metastatic lymph node in patients with HNSCC. These findings suggest that PD-L1 expression varies in response to tumor microenvironment across various tumor areas and time frames. Therefore, individualized PD-L1 assessment for each specimen type is crucial for accurately determining eligibility for ICIs.

Figure: CPS and TPS were subsequently calculated based on numerical outputs derived from the analysis.

Full article by Youn Soo Lee, Dong-Il Sun, Sang-Yeon Kim, Meejeong Kim, Heeseung Sohn, has been published in Frontiers in Oncology: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2025.1666078/full

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/comparison-of-pd-l1-expression-in-head-and-neck-squamous-cell-carcinoma-among-preoperative-biopsy-surgical-resection-and-metastatic-lymph-node/feed/ 0 T CELL DYNAMICS WITH NEOADJUVANT IMMUNOTHERAPY IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER https://headandnecknetwork.com/t-cell-dynamics-with-neoadjuvant-immunotherapy-in-head-and-neck-cancer/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/t-cell-dynamics-with-neoadjuvant-immunotherapy-in-head-and-neck-cancer/#respond Mon, 03 Mar 2025 14:56:34 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=1000

T CELL DYNAMICS WITH NEOADJUVANT IMMUNOTHERAPY IN HEAD AND NECK CANCER

Neoadjuvant immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been shown to be safe with promising early trial results in patients with locally advanced, resectable human papillomavirus-unrelated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are being tested as neoadjuvant therapies in various solid tumours, including in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), with promising results.

This approach is well-tolerated with favourable clinical outcomes including promising pathological response rates in initial studies. Pathological responses are likely to be increased by combining other agents with anti-PD-(L)1 antibodies.

Data suggest that pretreatment intratumoural tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cells are key drivers of tumour regression and give rise to both local and systemic antitumour immune responses.

Analyses of systemic responses have defined a PD-1+KLRG1− circulating CD8+ T cell subpopulation that is highly predictive of response, and revealed the interrelationships between intratumoural clones and circulating CD8+ T cells.

Lastly, interrogation of T cell populations within lymph nodes is beginning to delineate the immune crosstalk between the primary tumour and tumour-draining lymph nodes and how this relationship might be disrupted with tumour infiltration of the latter.

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/t-cell-dynamics-with-neoadjuvant-immunotherapy-in-head-and-neck-cancer/feed/ 0 HALLMARKS OF CANCERS OF THE NOSE AND SINUSES https://headandnecknetwork.com/hallmarks-of-cancers-of-the-nose-and-sinuses/ https://headandnecknetwork.com/hallmarks-of-cancers-of-the-nose-and-sinuses/#respond Wed, 26 Feb 2025 14:59:14 +0000 https://headandnecknetwork.com/?p=982 HALLMARKS OF CANCERS OF THE NOSE AND SINUSES

Cancers of the #nose and #sinuses squamous cell carcinoma are rare; about 2,000 people develop these cancers every year.

Do you want to know more?

Read the slides and share

]]> https://headandnecknetwork.com/hallmarks-of-cancers-of-the-nose-and-sinuses/feed/ 0