Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40907735›Full record

ReviewCancer letters2025

Cancer stem cell mechanisms and targeted therapeutic strategies in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Nagarajan Maharajan, Daniel S Benyamien-Roufaeil, Robert A Brown, Benjamin A Portney, Aditi Banerjee, Michal Zalzman

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Cancer letters, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Nagarajan MaharajanDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Daniel S Benyamien-RoufaeilDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Robert A BrownDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Benjamin A PortneyDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Aditi BanerjeeDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, USA; Marlene and Stewart Greenbaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
Michal ZalzmanDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; Marlene and Stewart Greenbaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; The Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA. Electronic address: MZalzman@som.umaryland.edu.

Funding

Cell Type Specific Transcriptional Cascades in Inner Ear DevelopmentR01DC013817 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI HERTZANO, RONNA · 2015 to 2022
$3.6M
Cell Type Specific Transcriptional Cascades in Inner Ear DevelopmentU01DC013817 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE · PI AHMED, ZUBAIR M. · 2023 to 2025
$1.6M
NIDCD NIH HHS R01 DC013817NIDCD NIH HHS U01 DC013817
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) originates in the epithelial lining of the oral cavity, pharynx, and larynx, with over 830,000 new cases diagnosed globally in 2020, making it the seventh most prevalent cancer. Despite treatment advances, high-grade HNSCCs remain associated with poor outcomes and a high risk of recurrence. Although Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are rare in HNSCC tumors, they are key drivers of tumor relapses, as they evade apoptosis and survive current therapies through enhanced DNA repair and quiescence. This review integrates recent discoveries into a unified framework for understanding CSC mechanisms. It examines the role of pluripotency factors, biomarkers, replicative immortalization, metabolic reprogramming, redox regulation, and immune evasion in shaping CSC behavior and survival under treatment stress. Non-coding RNAs are also discussed as modulators of gene expression via epigenetic regulation in CSCs. Importantly, it highlights how these adaptive mechanisms intersect as potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited to eliminate CSCs through targeting multiple pathways. Finally, it provides recent and emerging precision therapeutics, including CAR-T cells, immune checkpoint inhibitors, metabolic and redox-targeting agents, and epigenetic modulators currently in preclinical and clinical trials applications designed to eliminate CSCs and improve patient outcomes in HNSCC.

Indexed as

Head and Neck NeoplasmsNeoplastic Stem CellsSquamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and NeckBiomarkers, TumorEpigenesis, GeneticHumansMolecular Targeted TherapyBiomarkers, Tumor

Identifiers

PMID40907735
PMCPMC13435207

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.