Methods for Overcoming Chemoresistance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Keeping the Focus on Cancer Stem Cells, a Systematic Review

Author: mycolabadmin
8/29/2024
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Summary

Head and neck cancer is often resistant to chemotherapy because of cancer stem cells that survive treatment and cause recurrence. This review examined 31 studies on methods to overcome this resistance, finding that natural products like mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum), plants (sulforaphane from broccoli, curcumin from turmeric), and synthetic compounds can enhance chemotherapy effectiveness when combined with traditional drugs. These approaches work by targeting the specific pathways that allow cancer stem cells to survive, potentially improving treatment outcomes while reducing required drug doses and side effects.

Background

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and is often diagnosed at advanced stages with poor prognosis. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are responsible for chemotherapy resistance, tumor recurrence, and metastasis. Current treatment options including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery have limited effectiveness due to CSC-mediated drug resistance.

Objective

This systematic review examines published methods to overcome chemoresistance in head and neck cancers by targeting cancer stem cells. The review focuses on compounds that increase chemosensitivity in HNSCC through natural products, adjuvant molecules to traditional chemotherapy, and functional precision medicine approaches using patient-specific fresh biopsies.

Results

The review identified multiple natural products (Ganoderma lucidum, sulforaphane, honokiol, berberine, isoliquiritigenin, quercetin, ovatodiolide, celastrol, curcumin, magnoliol, and melatonin) and synthetic adjuvant molecules (ML-385, tubastatin A, fenofibrate, DHEA, XAV939, SAHA, sFRP4, and valproic acid) that enhance chemosensitivity by targeting CSCs through various mechanisms including IL-6/STAT3 pathway inhibition, apoptosis induction, and EMT suppression.

Conclusion

Targeting cancer stem cells represents a promising paradigm to overcome chemoresistance in HNSCC. Combination approaches using natural products or synthetic adjuvants with conventional chemotherapy (cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil) show enhanced efficacy. Functional precision medicine assays like ChemoID may enable personalized treatment selection based on individual tumor characteristics.

Published in:Cancers (Basel),
Study Type:Systematic Review,
Source: PMID: 39272862, PMC: PMC11394389, DOI: 10.3390/cancers16173004