title: Biology and immunology of cancer stem(-like) cells in head and neck cancer.
abstract: Immunological approaches against tumors including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have been investigated for about 50 years. Such immunotherapeutic treatments are still not sufficiently effective for therapy of HNSCC. Despite the existence of immunosurveillance tumor cells may escape from the host immune system by a variety of mechanisms. Recent findings have indicated that cancer stem(-like) cells (CSCs) in HNSCC have the ability to reconstitute the heterogeneity of the bulk tumor and contribute to immunosuppression and resistance to current therapies. With regard to the CSC model, future immunotherapy possibly in combination with other modes of treatment should target this subpopulation specifically to reduce local recurrence and metastasis. In this review, we will summarize recent research findings on immunological features of CSCs and the potential of immune targeting of CSCs.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, PR China; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Chenming
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Wenzhou Medical University, Zhejiang, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Minoo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lenarz
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Gynecology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte and Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kaufmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: andreas.albers@charite.de.
authors.forename: Andreas E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Albers
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007167:Immunotherapy; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D019139:Tumor Escape
keywords: ALDH1; Cancer stem cells; Epithelial–mesenchymal transition; Human papillomavirus; Immunotherapy; Vaccination