Tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: Functions and regulatory mechanisms.

Abstract

The tumor microenvironment has been recently reported to play a pivotal role in sustaining tumor cells survival and protecting them from immunotherapy and chemotherapy-induced death. It remains largely unknown how the specific signaling pathway exerts the tumor microenvironment in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma though previous studies have elucidated the regulatory mechanisms involve in tumor immune microenvironment, stromal cells, tumor angiogenesis and cancer stem cell. These components are responsible for tumor progression as well as anti-cancer therapy resistance, leading to rapid tumor growth and treatment failure. In this review, we focus on discussing the interaction between tumor cells and the surrounding components for better understanding of anti-cancer treatment ineffectiveness and its underlying molecular mechanisms.

• Authors: Ganping Wang, Ming Zhang, Maosheng Cheng, Xiaochen Wang, Kang Li, Jianwen Chen, Zhi Chen, Shuang Chen, Jie Chen, Gan Xiong, Xiuyun Xu, Cheng Wang, Demeng Chen
• Journal: Cancer letters (Cancer Lett) Vol. 507 Pg. 55-69 (06 01 2021) ISSN: 1872-7980 [Electronic] Ireland
• PMID: 33741424 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antineoplastic Agents

Topics

• Animals
• Antineoplastic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Cell Communication
• Drug Resistance, Neoplasm
• Head and Neck Neoplasms (drug therapy, immunology, metabolism, pathology)
• Humans
• Neoplastic Stem Cells (immunology, metabolism, pathology)
• Neovascularization, Pathologic
• Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck (drug therapy, immunology, metabolism, pathology)
• Stromal Cells (immunology, metabolism, pathology)
• Tumor Microenvironment