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Immunotherapy in Oral Cancer: A Fourth Dimension of Cancer Treatment

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Book cover Improving Outcomes in Oral Cancer

Abstract

The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors and adoptive T cell transfer have transformed the practice of oncology. Initially successful in melanoma, immunotherapy is currently being tested in virtually every solid tumor, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In 2016, the FDA approved two checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and pembrolizumab, for the treatment of platinum-refractory recurrent or metastatic HNSCC, after clinical trials showed improved survival where no effective treatment had existed previously. But despite the potential for enduring remissions, checkpoint inhibitors are only effective in a minority of patients. Additional strategies are being developed to harness the immune system by a variety of mechanisms to generate lasting antitumor responses for a greater proportion of cancer patients. These include targeting different pathways in the immune response, combining immunotherapies to produce synergistic effects, and combining immunotherapy with traditional therapies including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Despite its current limitations, immunotherapy is quickly becoming established as the fourth modality for treatment of a wide range of malignancies including oral cancer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earle A. Chiles Research Institute in the Robert W. Franz Cancer Center, Providence Cancer Institute, Portland, OR, USA

    Marcus A. Couey, Rom S. Leidner & R. Bryan Bell

  2. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Simon W. Young

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  1. Marcus A. Couey
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  2. Rom S. Leidner
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  4. R. Bryan Bell
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Correspondence to R. Bryan Bell .

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  1. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, North Memorial Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Deepak Kademani

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Couey, M.A., Leidner, R.S., Young, S.W., Bell, R.B. (2020). Immunotherapy in Oral Cancer: A Fourth Dimension of Cancer Treatment. In: Kademani, D. (eds) Improving Outcomes in Oral Cancer. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30094-4_10

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