Title:Resistance to Radiotherapy and Targeted Molecular Therapies in Squamous Cell Carcinomas of the Head and Neck, Preclinical Data and New Approaches
VOLUME: 7 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Eva-Maria Schottdorf
Affiliation:Anasthesie, Intensivund Notfallmedizin AIN, Kantonsspital Munsterlingen, Postfach, 8596 Munsterlingen, Switzerland.
Keywords:Resistance to radiotherapy, targeted therapy, combined therapy, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck
(HNSCC), metalloproteinases, Polymorphisms, cytoskeleton, heterodimers, cetuximab
Abstract:Many patients suffering from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) do not benefit from cetuximab
added to radiotherapy. Some of the mechansisms leading to resistance to the combined treatment are already understood.
However, they do not fully explain the resistance to multimodal therapy. In this review, potential mechanisms of
resistance to therapy will be addressed, starting from the outside of the cells looking at the potential role the ECM may
play, then continuing with EGF receptor alterations, which may contribute to resistance to therapy with antibodies. The
role of FcγRIIIa receptor polymorphism in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC), which may be a
mechanism of anticancer activity of cetuximab will be discussed, as well as the resistance to radiotherapy and receptor
blocking therapy mediated by the insulin-like growth factor receptor I (IGF-1R). Inside the cell, proteins expressed in
radioresistant cells will be highlighted before turning the attention to the impact epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT)
may have on increased resistance to different treatment modalities. The last section of this review aims to outline potential
treatment approaches, which, in the future, may help improve treatment response.
