Biological features of human papillomavirus-related head and neck cancers contributing to improved response Journal Article


Authors: Cleary, C.; Leeman, J. E.; Higginson, D. S.; Katabi, N.; Sherman, E.; Morris, L.; McBride, S.; Lee, N.; Riaz, N.
Article Title: Biological features of human papillomavirus-related head and neck cancers contributing to improved response
Abstract: Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are the sixth most common malignancy globally, and an increasing proportion of oropharyngeal HNSCCs are associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Patients with HPV-associated tumours have markedly improved overall and disease-specific survival compared with their HPV-negative counterparts when treated with chemoradiation. Although the difference in outcomes between these two groups is clearly established, the mechanism underlying these differences remains an area of investigation. Data from preclinical, clinical and genomics studies have started to suggest that an increase in radio-sensitivity of HPV-positive HNSCC may be responsible for improved outcomes, the putative mechanisms of which we will review here. The Cancer Genome Atlas and others have recently documented a multitude of molecular differences between HPV-positive and HPV-negative tumours. Preclinical investigations by multiple groups have explored possible mechanisms of increased sensitivity to therapy, including examining differences in DNA repair, hypoxia and the immune response. In addition to differences in the response to therapy, some groups have started to investigate phenotypic differences between the two diseases, such as tumour invasiveness. Finally, we will conclude with a brief review of ongoing clinical trials that are attempting to de-escalate treatment to minimise long-term toxicity while maintaining cure rates. New insights from preclinical and genomic studies may eventually lead to personalised treatment paradigms for HPV-positive patients. (C) 2016 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: dna repair; biology; head and neck cancer; radiosensitivity; gene-expression; prognostic-significance; cervical-cancer; squamous-cell carcinoma; tumor-suppressor; chemoradiation therapy; hpv; dna-damage response; oropharyngeal cancer; positive head; p16(ink4a) expression
Journal Title: Clinical Oncology
Volume: 28
Issue: 7
ISSN: 0936-6555
Publisher: Elsevier Science, Inc.  
Date Published: 2016-07-01
Start Page: 467
End Page: 474
Language: English
ACCESSION: WOS:000377361300007
DOI: 10.1016/j.clon.2016.03.001
PROVIDER: Thomson Reuters Web of Science™
PROVIDER: wos
PUBMED: 27052795
PMCID: PMC5512583
Notes: Article -- Source: Wos
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MSK Authors
  1. Eric J Sherman
    342 Sherman
  2. Nadeem Riaz
    419 Riaz
  3. Nancy Y. Lee
    878 Lee
  4. Nora Katabi
    306 Katabi
  5. Luc Morris
    281 Morris
  6. Sean Matthew McBride
    297 McBride
  7. Jonathan Eric Leeman
    78 Leeman
  8. Cristian Ryan Cleary
    5 Cleary