Preprint Review Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Immune Escape Mechanisms and their Clinical Relevance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Version 1 : Received: 21 August 2020 / Approved: 22 August 2020 / Online: 22 August 2020 (04:58:03 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 31 August 2020 / Approved: 31 August 2020 / Online: 31 August 2020 (04:32:48 CEST)

How to cite: Seliger, B.; Massa, C.; Yang, B.; Bethmann, D.; Kappler, M.; Eckert, A.W.; Wickenhauser, C. Immune Escape Mechanisms and their Clinical Relevance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Preprints 2020, 2020080490. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202008.0490.v1 Seliger, B.; Massa, C.; Yang, B.; Bethmann, D.; Kappler, M.; Eckert, A.W.; Wickenhauser, C. Immune Escape Mechanisms and their Clinical Relevance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Preprints 2020, 2020080490. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202008.0490.v1

Abstract

Immunotherapy has been recently approved for the treatment of relapsed and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). However, the response of patients is limited and the overall survival remains short with a low rate of long-term survivors. There exists growing evidence that immune escape mechanisms play an important role for the low efficacy of immunotherapies in this disease. These are caused by diverse complex processes characterized by (i) changes in the expression of immune modulatory factors in tumour cells, (ii) alterations in the frequency and composition of immune cell subpopulations in the tumour microenvironment and peripheral blood leading to reduced innate and adaptive immune responses, (iii) impaired homing of immune cells to the tumour site as well as (iv) the presence of immune suppressive soluble and physical factors in the tumour microenvironment. We here summarize the major immune escape strategies of HNSCC lesions, the role of the tumor microenvironment in this process, the clinical relevance of HNSCC-induced immune tolerance, currently employed immunotherapeutic approaches and possibilities to overcome resistance to immunotherapy thereby improving the HNSCC patients’ survival.

Keywords

head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; immune escape; tumor microenvironment; immune responses; immunotherapy

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Oncology and Oncogenics

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.