title: Perspectives in chemosensitivity and chemoresistance assays and their implementation in head and neck cancer.
abstract: Therapeutic options for patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. The latter plays a major role in the treatment selection of recurrent, metastatic or therapy resistant tumours, these being some of the major challenges in head and neck oncology. For these patients, chemosensitivity and chemoresistance assays would be paramount to identify their individual therapy options. In this review, seven common assays will be described and discussed in the context of several studies. Further, a new assay will also be presented, currently being validated in a European Union funded project. Comparisons will be drawn to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of these assays in identifying individual treatment options, and their potential implementation in head and neck malignancies will be discussed. There is an unmet demand for the development of ex vivo diagnostic tools that may predict response in head and neck cancer on the way towards an individualized treatment for these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bussmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Chia-Jung
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Balazs B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Lörincz
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rieckmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Oncology and Haematology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Block
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany. r.knecht@uke.de.
authors.forename: Rainald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Knecht
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Chemoresistance assay; Chemosensitivity assay; Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)