Summarize the unique pathobiology of head and neck cancers
Addresses signaling pathways and individual proteins that are important in causing or supporting the aggressive nature of head and neck cancer
Covers high throughput studies addressing chromosomal, mutational, and transcriptional changes that characterize SCCHN
Head and neck cancers, involving sites from the nasopharynx to the subglottic larynx, are frequently devastating cancers that afflict patients around the world. These cancers are frequently locally advanced prior to detection, and require multimodality therapy that is associated with high morbidity. As this book addresses this difficult disease, it accomplishes three main goals.

First, it introduces the etiology and subclasses of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHNs), and how these factors affect prognosis. Although habitual exposures to tobacco, alcohol, and other agents have historically been the main causes of SCCHN, a rising proportion of oropharynx cancers arise from transforming human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. These two broad classes of SCCHN have significant differences in disease profile and response to treatment, as we discuss.

Second, it summarizes the current state of understanding of the genetic, epigenetic and protein expression changes associated with the various classes of SCCHN. In the past decade, disease pathogenesis of SCCHN has been appreciated to involve deregulation of multiple tumor pathways, including the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) EGFR, ERBB2, ERBB3, c-MET, and IGF1R; transforming growth factor β (TGFβ); Notch; cytoplasmic signaling proteins including PTEN, PI3K, JAK/STAT, and Wnt-responsive β-catenin; mutation control systems, including p53 and the DNA damage repair (DDR) machinery; and hypoxic response. The specific understanding of the action of these proteins in SCCHN is presented here.

Finally, this book defines potential therapeutic targets for improved management of the disease in the future, discussing prospects for improved prediction of prognosis.


Content Level » Research

Keywords » Dna repair - Human Papillomavirus - genomics - head and neck cancer - hypoxia - molecular determinants

Related subjects » Cancer Research - Oncology & Hematology

Chapter 1: Overview: The Pathobiology of Head and Neck Cancer

Chapter 2: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck cancer and the Wnt signaling pathway…..Theodoros Rampias and Amanda Psyrri

Chapter 3: EGFR Inhibitors as Therapeutic Agents in Head and Neck Cancer…..Hanqing Liu, Jennifer R. Cracchiolo, Tim N. Beck, Ilya G. Serebriiskii, and Erica A. Golemis

Chapter 4: The Role of HGF/c-MET in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma…..Tanguy Y. Seiwert, Tim N. Beck and Ravi Salgia
Chapter 5: Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Receptors in Head and Neck Cancer…..Steven A. Rosenzweig and Casey O. Holmes

Chapter 6: The PI3K Signaling Pathway in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma……Jason D. Howard and Christine H. Chung

Chapter 7: Jak/STAT Signaling in HNC…..Bhavana S. Vangara and Jennifer R. Grandis

Chapter 8: TGFβ regulates EMT in head and neck cancer…..Jill M. Neiman and Xiao-Jing Wang

Chapter 9: p53 in Head and Neck Cancer…..Jong-Lyel Roh and Wayne M. Koch

Chapter 10: DNA damage proteins and response to therapy in head and neck cancer…..Ranee Mehra and Ilya G. Serebriiskii

Chapter 11: Hypoxia and radioresistance in head and neck cancer…..Peiwen Kuo and Quynh-Thu Le

Chapter 12: The Wnt -catenin Signaling Circuitry in Head and Neck Cancer…..Rogerio M. Castilho and J. Silvio Gutkind

Chapter 13: Sequencing HNC: Emergence of Notch Signaling……Curtis R. Pickering, Thomas J. Ow, Jeffrey N. Myers

Chapter 14: Gene Expression in HNC…..Michael F Ochs and Joseph A Califano

Chapter 15: Epidemiology of HPV in Head and Neck Cancer; variant strains, discrete protein function…..Camille C.R. Ragin, Jeffrey C. Liu

Chapter 16: Projections: Novel Therapies for HPV-Negative Cancers of the Head and Neck…..Barbara Burtness