Immunotherpy in Head and Neck Cancer

Immunotherapy has revolutionized the treatment landscape for head and neck cancer offering new hope and improved outcomes for patients. This approach harnesses the power of the immune system to target and destroy cancer cells providing a more targeted and potentially less toxic alternative to traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Key immunotherapy strategies in head and neck cancer include immune checkpoint inhibitors adoptive cell therapies cancer vaccines and combination therapies. Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab and nivolumab block the inhibitory signals that cancer cells use to evade detection by the immune system allowing immune cells to recognize and attack the tumor.Adoptive cell therapies like CAR-T cell therapy involve engineering a patient's own immune cells to specifically target cancer cells. Cancer vaccines aim to stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells either by using tumor antigens or dendritic cells to boost immune responses. Overall immunotherapy represents a promising approach for head and neck cancer offering personalized and targeted treatments that can improve survival rates.