Predictors of circulating INTERLEUKIN-6 levels in head and neck cancer patients

Curcumin: A Potential Weapon in the Prevention and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer

Head and neck cancers (HNC) are aggressive, difficult-to-treat tumors that can be caused by genetic factors but mainly by lifestyle or infection caused by the human papillomavirus. As the sixth most common malignancy, it presents a formidable therapeutic challenge with limited therapeutic modalities. Curcumin, a natural polyphenol, is appearing as a promising multitarget anticancer and antimetastatic agent. Numerous studies have shown that curcumin and its derivatives have the potential to affect signaling pathways (NF-κB, JAK/STAT, and EGFR) and molecular mechanisms that are crucial for the growth and migration of head and neck tumors. Furthermore, its ability to interact with the tumor microenvironment and trigger the immune system may significantly influence the organism's immune response to the tumor. Combining curcumin with conventional therapies such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy may improve the efficacy of treatment and reduce the side effects of treatment, thereby increasing its therapeutic potential. This review is a comprehensive overview that discusses both the benefits and limitations of curcumin and its therapeutic effects in the context of tumor biology, with an emphasis on molecular mechanisms in the context of HNC. This review also includes possibilities to improve the limiting properties of curcumin both in terms of the development of new derivatives, formulations, or combinations with conventional therapies that have potential as a new type of therapy for the treatment of HNC and subsequent use in clinical practice.

Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus and Co-Infection with Epstein-Barr Virus in Oral and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas

BACKGROUND

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is one of the most important malignancies, worldwide. Oncogenic viruses, such as human papilloma virus (HPV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), are linked to these cancers and studies suggest a possible interaction between HPV and EBV during co-infections to promote oncogenesis. Nonetheless, these reports are controversial and demand more investigations in this regard. The present work to assessed the prevalence of HPV and co-infection with EBV in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

METHODS

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues were collected from 166 archived oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma samples from Ahvaz Imam Khomeini hospital, Ahvaz, Iran, from March 2013 and December 2019. Nested-PCR was used to detect the viruses and type-specific PCR/nested-PCR and sequencing were performed for virus genotyping.

RESULTS

Out of the 166 specimens, 84.33% and 16.42% were from oral cavity and oropharynx, respectively; of which, 32 cases (19.3%) were HPV-positive (16.42% of oral cavity and 34.6% of oropharynx). HPV was detected in 36.36%, 25%, and 16.42% of base of tongue, tonsil, and oral tongue tumors, respectively. HPV was more associated with well differentiated tumors (24;18.04%) in compared to moderately and poorly differentiated ones. Regarding HPV-16 genotyping, 7 (21.8%) out of the 32 samples were found to be HPV-16 (4/26 (15.38%) for oropharynx and 3/140 (2.14%) for oral cavity). Moreover, 90 samples were evaluated for EBV infection and co-infection; of which, 4 (4.4%) subjects tested positive for EBV, including two cases with HPV co-infection. All the positive cases were EBV type B, from oral cavity, and histologically well differentiated.

CONCLUSIONS

HPV was more associated with oropharyngeal cancer. This association has been linked to various factors such as repeated oral and oropharyngeal exposure to HPV due to change in patterns of sexual behaviors; a phenomenon that may demand routine HPV vaccination.

Immune Cell and Biochemical Biomarkers in Advanced Laryngeal Cancer

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate cell and biochemical biomarkers and establish their prognostic value in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer.

Material and Methods

A prospective study included 52 patients with advanced laryngeal carcinoma surgically treated at the tertiary referral center. Tumor tissue was immunohistochemically stained for T-cell markers (CD4 and CD8), and levels of cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8) and C-reactive protein were analyzed from blood samples.

Results

Overall 3-year survival (OS) of patients included in the study was 69.2% and the disease specific survival (DSS) 72.5%. Higher expression of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ were significant prognostic factors with positive impact on both OS and DSS in univariate analysis, but not in multivariate analysis. Levels of IL-8 were a significant predictor of 3-year OS and DSS survival in patients with advanced laryngeal cancer but not levels of IL-6 and CRP values.

Conclusion

Though high expression of CD4 and CD8 were demonstrated in the tumor tissue, but their prognostic role was not established. Higher values of IL-8 proved to be significant negative predictor of DSS. This could further collaborate the inclusion of combination of biomarkers in assessment of favorable treatment choice in patients with advanced laryngeal carcinoma.

Association Between Interleukin-6 and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Systematic Review

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a proinflammatory cytokine which plays an important role in several regulatory mechanisms of cancer. Moreover, experimental and clinical studies have reported that IL-6 targeted therapies might provide significant benefits for cancer treatment. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate IL-6 activity in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). A systematic review of the association between serum, saliva and tumor IL-6 and HNSCC was developed on PubMed/Medline in the publication range from January 1995 to January 2019. Our literature analysis demonstrated that overexpression and elevated serum and/or saliva IL-6 concentrations in patients with HNSCC are related to poor survival and oncological outcomes. Although there is a correlation between IL-6 concentrations and tumorigenicity, it is noteworthy that IL-6 targeted therapies are generally performed in vitro and in experimental studies. Therefore, prospective, randomized clinical trials are required that focus on IL-6 targeted therapies for the treatment of HNSCC.

Immunotherapy for head and neck cancer: Recent advances and future directions

Three randomized phase III trials have now conclusively proven that exposure to a PD-1 inhibitor prolongs survival in recurrent/metastatic (R/M) HNSCC, and it is clear that such agents should be used in the management of all patients who do not have contraindications to their use. Two of these phase III randomized trials showed that the anti-PD1 antibodies nivolumab and pembrolizumab were superior to investigators' choice chemotherapy in second-line platinum-refractory R/M HNSCC. Recently, a third phase III randomized trial, KEYNOTE-048, showed that pembrolizumab with chemotherapy was superior to the EXTREME regimen (cis- or carboplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cetuximab) in all patients, and pembrolizumab monotherapy was superior in patients whose tumors express PD-L1 in first-line R/M HNSCC. Pembrolizumab is now approved as monotherapy in PD-L1 expressing disease (combined positive score ≥1) or in combination with chemotherapy for all patients with R/M HNSCC. Thus, PD-L1 biomarker testing will be routinely used in R/M HNSCC, and this employs a scoring system that incorporates immune cell staining, referred to as the combined positive score (CPS). Additionally, for the 85% of patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥1, clinical judgment will guide the choice of pembrolizumab monotherapy or pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, until more detailed clinical data are forthcoming to better inform this decision. In this article we discuss the clinical trials leading to these therapeutic advances and we will review initial results from clinical trials in previously untreated, locally advanced disease, and those using novel combinations of checkpoint inhibitors, co-stimulatory agonists, and therapeutic vaccines.

Systemic Inflammatory Reaction in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer-An Explorative Study

Aim: To assess the longitudinal pattern of pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in serum up to 1 year following treatment for head and neck cancer. Materials and Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed, curable head and neck cancer were included (n = 30). The most common subsite was oropharynx (n = 13) followed by oral cavity (n = 9). Blood was drawn from all patients at regular intervals (before treatment, 7 weeks after the start of the treatment, and at 3 months and 1 year after termination of treatment) and analyzed for cytokines (Il-1β, Il-2, Il-4, Il-5, Il-6, Il-8, Il-10, GM-CSF, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) and growth factors (G-CSF, FGF-2, EGF, and VEGF). Results: The time point of the peak level of pro-inflammatory cytokines was 7 weeks after start of treatment which corresponded for the majority of patients with termination of radiotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. Patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy exhibited a significant increase of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 at 7 weeks as compared to pre-treatment levels. At 1 year after termination of treatment four patients experienced recurrence of disease while 26 patients were considered disease-free. The patients with recurrence had significantly higher levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 at 7 weeks after the start of treatment than patients without recurrence. Correlated with T stadium patients with T3-T4 had higher levels of IL-1β and IL-8 than patients with T1-T2 7 weeks after the start of treatment. Conclusions: The observed immune response in this explorative study demonstrates that chemoradiotherapy may induce not only a local treatment effect on the immune system but also effects far outside the irradiated field. The result of the study indicates that analysis of a pro-inflammatory panel of cytokines in serum at 7 weeks after the start of treatment could be of prognostic value in patients with head and neck cancer. Further study of a larger cohort could help identify patients at larger risk for recurrent disease with measurements of pro-inflammatory cytokines under and after treatment.