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Review
. 2022 Aug 25;14(17):4116.
doi: 10.3390/cancers14174116.

A Review of the Role of Oral Microbiome in the Development, Detection, and Management of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancers

Kimberly M Burcher  1 , Jack T Burcher  2 , Logan Inscore  1 , Chance H Bloomer  1 , Cristina M Furdui  1 , Mercedes Porosnicu  1
Affiliations
Review

A Review of the Role of Oral Microbiome in the Development, Detection, and Management of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancers

Kimberly M Burcher et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

The role of the microbiome in the development and propagation of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is largely unknown and the surrounding knowledge lags behind what has been discovered related to the microbiome and other malignancies. In this review, the authors performed a structured analysis of the available literature from several databases. The authors discuss the merits and detriments of several studies discussing the microbiome of the structures of the aerodigestive system throughout the development of HNSCC, the role of the microbiome in the development of malignancies (generally and in HNSCC) and clinical applications of the microbiome in HNSCC. Further studies will be needed to adequately describe the relationship between HNSCC and the microbiome, and to push this relationship into a space where it is clinically relevant outside of a research environment.

Keywords: microbiome; modulation of microbiome; prognostic and predictive biomarkers; squamous cell cancers of the head and neck.

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Conflict of interest statement

Mercedes Porosnicu is a consultant for Boehringer Ingelheim.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Factors influencing an individual’s microbiome.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Methods through which the microbiome alters the innate immune system. Abbreviations: MAMP, microbe-associated molecular patterns; PRR, pathogen recognition receptor. Created with biorender.com (accessed on 18 August 2022).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Methods through which the microbiome alters the innate immune system. Abbreviations: MAMP, microbe-associated molecular patterns; PRR, pathogen recognition receptor. Created with biorender.com (accessed on 18 August 2022).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Factors influencing immune tone according to Chervonsky’s “Commenselocentric View of the Homeostatic Maintenance of Host Health”.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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