The expanding role of IAP antagonists for the treatment of head and neck cancer

Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) inhibit the intrinsic and extrinsic cell death pathways, promoting cell survival. Antagonists of these pathways are under study as anti‐cancer therapeutics. A high proportion of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) have genomic alterations in IAP pathways, resulting in the dysregulation of cell death pathways and rendering them susceptible to IAP antagonist therapy. Preclinical studies suggest IAP antagonists, also known as second mitochondria‐derived activator of caspases mimetics, may be effective treatments for HNSCC, especially when combined with radiation. Mechanistic studies have shown both molecular mechanisms (i.e., enhanced cell death) and immune mechanisms (e.g., immunogenic cell death and T‐cell activation), underlying the efficacy of these drugs in preclinical models. Phase I/II clinical trials have shown promising results, portending a future where this class of targeted therapies becomes incorporated into the treatment paradigm for head and neck cancers.

• Publication year

  2023

• Venue

  Cancer Medicine

• Publication date

  2023-05-02

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1002/cam4.6011PMID 37132167PMCID 10358233
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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