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REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1440764
This article is part of the Research Topic Opportunities and Challenges of Head and Neck Cancer Treatment in the Era of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors View all articles
NK cell based immunotherapy against Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Provisionally accepted- 1 First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China
- 2 Anyuan people's hospital, Ganzhou, China
- 3 Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
- 4 General Hospital of Southern Theater Command of PLA, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China
- 5 Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- 6 Third Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu Province, China
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), a major subtype of head and neck cancers, presents significant challenges due to its aggressive feature and limited therapeutic efficacy of conventional treatments. In response to these challenges, Natural Killer (NK) cells, a vital component of the innate immune system, are being explored for their therapeutic potential in OSCC due to their inherent ability to target and eliminate cancer cells without prior sensitization. This review uniquely focuses on the evolving role of NK cells specifically in OSCC, incorporating recent advancements in CAR-NK cell engineering and personalized therapy approaches that have not been comprehensively covered in previous reviews. The mechanisms through which NK cells exert cytotoxic effects on tumor cells include direct killing through the engagement of natural cytotoxic receptors and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), making them promising agents in cancer immunotherapy. Additionally, the article explores recent advancements in engineering NK cells to enhance their antitumor activity, such as the modification with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) to target specific tumor antigens. Clinical implications of NK cell-based therapies, including the challenges of integrating these treatments with existing protocols and the potential for personalized therapy, are examined. The review highlights the promise of NK cell therapies in improving outcomes for OSCC patients and outlines future directions for research in this dynamic field of oncological immunotherapy.
Keywords: oral squamous cell carcinoma, Immunotherapy, Natural Killer cells, Tumor Microenvironment, CAR-NK
Received: 30 May 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Xie, Wu, Huang, Zheng, Wang, Jia, He, Gong, Ju and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Qiurong Sun, First Affiliated Hospital of Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, China
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