Emerging therapeutic strategies for head and neck tumors: from molecular targets to practical guidelines

Cancers in the head and neck region, mainly represented by squamous cell carcinomas, are among the highest prevalent tumors worldwide. It is a major and emergent public health issue, late diagnosis, aggressive clinical behavior and high rates of morbidity and mortality are the main features of this disease. Advances in first line surgical treatment have improved survival rates marginally, however, the clinical outcomes are still poor. Therefore, we must try different approaches to obtain better results and to cure this mutilating disease.

Recurrent and metastatic tumors remain a significant problem for patients and the health system. The genomic landscape of the advanced head and neck cancers has revealed multiple new gene mutations, while simultaneously confirming the role of other gene alterations in head and neck cancer tumorigenesis. Taking full advantage of precision medicine in this regard is underpinned by our ability to accurately identify individual patient genomic variations and to tailor targeted therapy based on this. The ever-expanding number of actionable druggable targets has fueled a plethora of clinical trials assessing various pharmacotherapeutics in the management of this group of cancers. The aim of this Research Topic is precisely to inspire all of us within the field with new approaches and perspectives regarding potential therapeutic targets and the molecular mechanisms involved with head and neck cancer progression and metastasis.

We encourage researchers to contribute review articles, clinical trial design and results, epidemiological data, bioinformatics and basic science information that can help us to separate the wheat from the chaff, regardless of whether their hypotheses are mainstream. We are also open to original papers that assess molecular mechanisms, signalling pathways, new targets or old targets with innovative perspectives or methodologies that can stimulate the critical evaluation of novel therapeutic strategies in benefit of patients with advanced head and neck cancer.

Any in silico data will need to be supported with experimental data and will not be considered for review on its own.