Immuno-biological Aspects of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The process of tumorigenesis is conditioned by change or the series of changes at a gene level. The development of cancer is largely pre-ordained by this change, but very important role is played by other factors. In case of solid tumors it is mainly a tumor microenvironment, where the tumor cells are in contact with stromal cells, especially fibroblasts, and immune cells. Tumor microenvironment can also critically modify the nature and intensity of anti- tumor immune response. Squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck are the sixth most common cancer, which affect each year more than half a million patients worldwide. Despite advances and improvements in all treatment modalities, achieved therapeutic results even in Western countries are not satisfactory and remain at approximately the same values for several decades. At prezent, the 5 years survival rate, regardless of the location and stage of disease, is approximately only 40%. In the prezented work the immunological and biological aspects of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck are discussed. It summarizes the recent findings on the molecular basis of the behavior of tumor cells and the influence and significance of regulation of the immune system for the clinical course of disease and the modern therapeutic approaches