title: Toward the use of precision medicine for the treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: Precision medicine is a new strategy that aims at preventing and treating human diseases by focusing on individual variations in people's genes, environment and lifestyle. Precision medicine has been used for cancer diagnosis and treatment and shows evident clinical efficacy. Rapid developments in molecular biology, genetics and sequencing technologies, as well as computational technology, has enabled the establishment of "big data", such as the Human Genome Project, which provides a basis for precision medicine. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive cancer with a high incidence rate and low survival rate. Current therapies are often aggressive and carry considerable side effects. Much research now indicates that precision medicine can be used for HNSCC and may achieve improved results. From this perspective, we present an overview of the current status, potential strategies, and challenges of precision medicine in HNSCC. We focus on targeted therapy based on cell the surface signaling receptors epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2), and on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR, JAK/STAT3 and RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK cellular signaling pathways. Gene therapy for the treatment of HNSCC is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Wang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Yandi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Zihao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Chongkui
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Xinhua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Mingye
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Qianming
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000628:therapy*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D057285:Precision Medicine / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D015398:Signal Transduction; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; D058570:TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; C546842:MTOR protein, human
keywords: HNSCC; big data; gene therapy; precision medicine; targeted therapy