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REVIEW article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Head and Neck Cancer
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1413255

Primary cilia-associated signalling in squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck region

Provisionally accepted
Iveta Putnová Iveta Putnová 1,2Barbora Moldovan Putnova Barbora Moldovan Putnova 2,3Pavel Hurník Pavel Hurník 4Jan Stembirek Jan Stembirek 2,5Marcela Buchtova Marcela Buchtova 2,6Petra Kolísková Petra Kolísková 2,6*
  • 1 University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, South Moravia, Czechia
  • 2 Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia
  • 3 Department of Pathology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Brno, Olomouc, Czechia
  • 4 Institute of Molecular and Clinical Pathology and Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czechia
  • 5 Other, Ostrara, Czechia
  • 6 Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Brno, South Moravia, Czechia

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

    Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the head and neck originates from the mucosal lining of the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, tongue, nasopharynx, oropharynx, larynx and hypopharynx. In this review, we summarise what is currently known about the potential function of primary cilia in the pathogenesis of this disease. As primary cilia represent a key cellular structure for signal transduction and are related to cell proliferation, an understanding of their role in carcinogenesis is necessary for the design of new treatment approaches. Here, we introduce cilia-related signalling in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and its possible association with HNSCC tumorigenesis. From this point of view, PDGF, EGF, Wnt and Hh signalling are discussed as all these pathways were found to be dysregulated in HNSCC. Moreover, we review the clinical potential of small molecules affecting primary cilia signalling to target squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck area.

    Keywords: head and neck cancer, Primary Cilium, Hedgehog, Wnt, PDGF, oral squamous cell carcinoma, Signalling pathway inhibitors

    Received: 06 Apr 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Putnová, Moldovan Putnova, Hurník, Stembirek, Buchtova and Kolísková. 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: Petra Kolísková, Laboratory of Molecular Morphogenesis, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czechia

    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.