Abstract

A plenitude of reasons, including tumour heterogeneity, mechanisms of resistance to therapy, a complex pathogenesis, in which cancer stem cells are involved, contribute to the poor outcome of HNSCC patients after therapy. The roles of vital signalling proteins are constantly unravelled, and different types of inhibitors are examined yielding novel potential targeting strategies. However, there will be a long way to go, before drugs targeting these molecules will be available in routine clinical practice. In this review the focus will be on these novel targets, as well as inhibiting agents, which nowadays are combined to an increasing degree. Additionally, the role proteomics plays in modern drug research will be highlighted.

Keywords: Cancer stem cells, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, HNSCC, proteomics, targeted therapy.