Current Insights and Progress in the Clinical Management of Head and Neck Cancer

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Head and neck cancer (HNC) incidence has been steadily increasing since the 1990s. While the multimodal treatment approach for localized HNC is well established and renders a good treatment response, this is not the case for advanced or recurrent/metastatic HNC. Most patients present HNC at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, and the lack of effective treatment results in the death of half of patients diagnosed with advanced or recurrent/metastatic HNC. This review aims to present a current summary of the epidemiology, diagnosis, histopathology, current treatment and novel treatment approaches for HNC. ABSTRACT: Head and neck cancer (HNC), also known as the cancer that can affect the structures between the dura mater and the pleura, is the 6th most common type of cancer. This heterogeneous group of malignancies is usually treated with a combination of surgery and radio- and chemotherapy, depending on if the disease is localized or at an advanced stage. However, most HNC patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage, resulting in the death of half of these patients. Thus, the prognosis of advanced or recurrent/metastatic HNC, especially HNC squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), is notably poorer than the prognosis of patients diagnosed with localized HNC. This review explores the epidemiology and etiologic factors of HNC, the histopathology of this heterogeneous cancer, and the diagnosis methods and treatment approaches currently available. Moreover, special interest is given to the novel therapies used to treat HNC subtypes with worse prognosis, exploring immunotherapies and targeted/multi-targeted drugs undergoing clinical trials, as well as light-based therapies (i.e., photodynamic and photothermal therapies).