Overview: The Pathobiology of Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

Squamous cell cancers arising in the head and neck, from the nasopharynx to the subglottic larynx, are frequently devastating cancers that afflict patients around the world. Early stage cancers are readily cured with surgery or radiation. In contrast, locally advanced cancers require morbid multimodality therapy and nonetheless have high recurrence rates, while metastatic disease has not been curable with cytotoxic chemotherapy. The emergence of more treatment-responsive human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven cancers and the advent of immune checkpoint blockade mean that the outlook for patients with head and neck cancer has improved dramatically since the first edition of this book was published in 2014. Our understanding of the biology of this cancer has deepened considerably in the past 4 years, yet undruggable targets due to the predominance of tumor suppressor gene mutation and other noncatalytic abnormalities continue to present barriers to molecular and personalized therapy and to cure in HPV-negative disease.