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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
Ying Zhang Ying Zhang 1Jianming Xie Jianming Xie 2Haoran Wu Haoran Wu 3Jinhui Huang Jinhui Huang 3Danna Zheng Danna Zheng 3Shaotong Wang Shaotong Wang 3Xueqiang Jia Xueqiang Jia 3Zongzhong He Zongzhong He 4Ying Gong Ying Gong 5Linling Ju Linling Ju 6Qiurong Sun Qiurong Sun 1*
  • 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

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    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

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.