Novel Personalized Biologic Driven Strategies in Head and Neck Cancers – Empirical Cancer Care Leaping Towards Precision Care Volume 7 - Issue 2

Bindiya Vijayan, Ancy Mathew, CK Fareena Taj, Krithikaa Sekar, G Lohith*

• Consultant Radiation Oncologist, HCG Hospitals, India

Received:July 16, 2021;   Published:July 26, 2021

Corresponding author: Consultant Radiation Oncologist, HCG Hospitals, India

DOI: 10.32474/SJO.2021.07.000258

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Abstract

Precision medicine is the targeted therapy with personalized approach to cancer treatment, ultimately Resulting in more precise targeting of tumor cells and spares the normal tissues and with minimal toxicities. The currently practised precision/targeted approaches in head and neck cancer are either based on the patient-specific or tumor-specific characteristics which includes the underlying etiology, tumor microenvironment or the genomics. The concept of precision medicine in oncology is focused on identifying therapies that are based on the genetic characterization of a patient’s tumor, thereby tailoring the cancer treatment to a specific gene mutation in an individual patient’s cancer. Though radiation oncology with the recent advancements with image guidance and functional imaging provides a more individualized treatment, it can be further optimized by the incorporation of novel biologic driven strategies, by consolidating the data obtained from genomics and radio genomics. This upgrades the treatment options with de-intensification or intensification based on the patient and tumor characteristics and etiology. This is currently achieved by various immunotherapeutic agents already in practice with monoclonal antibodies and signal transduction inhibitors and can be further expanded by identification of neoantigens for cancer vaccines and checkpoint inhibitor gene panels, with predictive and prognostic objective in addition to therapeutic benefits.

Abstract| Introduction| Why Precision Medicine in Oncology| Precision Medicine in Radiation Oncology| Targeted Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer Based on Etiology| Targeted Treatment in Head and Neck Cancer Based on Tumor Microenvironment| Targeted Treatment Based on Tumor Genomics| Ongoing and Upcoming Studies: Future of Precision Medicine in Head And Neck Cancer Management| Advantages and Challenges| Conclusion| References|