Combinations of immunotherapy and radiation therapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: a narrative review.

ABSTRACT: Radiation therapy and systemic therapy are the primary non-surgical treatment modalities for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Despite advances in our biologic understanding of this disease and the development of novel therapeutics, treatment resistance remains a significant problem. It has become increasingly evident that the innate and adaptive immune systems play a significant role in the modulation of anti-tumor responses to traditional cancer-directed therapies. By inducing DNA damage and cell death, radiation therapy appears to activate both innate and adaptive immune responses. Immunotherapies targeting programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) also have yielded promising results, particularly in the recurrent/metastatic setting.

SUBMITTER: Hayman TJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8798834 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature