Targeting Angiogenesis in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: Opportunities in the Immunotherapy Era

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Nabil Saba, Emory University; Pooja Vijayvargiya, Emory University; Jan B Vermorken, Antwerp University Hospital; Juan P Rodrigo, University of Oviedo; Stefan M Willems, University Medical Center Groningen; Nina Zidar, University of Ljubljana; Remco de Bree, University Medical Center Utrecht; Antti Maekitie, University of Helsinki; Greg T Wolf, University of Michigan; Athanassios Argiris, Thomas Jefferson University; Yong Teng, Emory University; Alfio Ferlito, International Head and Neck Scientific Group
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-03-01
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2022 by the authors.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cancers14051202
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: CANCERS
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 5
• Grant/Funding Information: This research received no external funding.
• Keywords: SCCHN; angiogenesis; immunotherapy; PLUS CETUXIMAB; tumor microenvironment; MOLECULAR-MECHANISMS; PHASE-II TRIAL; Science & Technology; PROGNOSTIC-SIGNIFICANCE; REGULATORY T-CELLS; Oncology; CANCER-PATIENTS; RECURRENT; VEGF; EXPRESSION; ENDOTHELIAL-GROWTH-FACTOR; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery; Health Sciences, Oncology

Abstract

Despite the lack of approved anti-angiogenic therapies in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), preclinical and more recent clinical evidence support the role of targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in this disease. Targeting VEGF has gained even greater interest following the recent evidence supporting the role of immunotherapy in the management of advanced SCCHN. Preclinical evidence strongly suggests that VEGF plays a role in promoting the growth and progression of SCCHN, and clinical evidence exists as to the value of combining this strategy with immunotherapeutic agents. Close to 90% of SCCHNs express VEGF, which has been correlated with a worse clinical prognosis and an increased resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. As immunotherapy is currently at the forefront of the management of advanced SCCHN, revisiting the rationale for targeting angiogenesis in this disease has become an even more attractive proposition.