Future directions in research, treatment and prevention of HPV-related squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

ABSTRACT: The causative relationship between high-risk HPV and OSCC is well-established. HPV-associated OSCC represents a distinct disease entity compared to tobacco-associated ones. These virus-associated cancers continuously express the HPV E6 and E7 viral oncogenes even in advanced stages, and repression of viral oncogene expression can prevent the growth or survival of cancer cells. This finding raises the possibility that even late-stage HPV-associated OSCC can be cured by HPV-targeted approaches, such as medicines that interfere with the expression or function of viral oncoproteins, and therapeutic vaccines that elicit a cytolytic immune response to cells expressing these oncoproteins. The demonstration that high-risk HPVs are causally associated with a subset of OSCC has allowed the developme

SUBMITTER: Psyrri A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3394158 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature