ReviewCancers2026
Overcoming Therapeutic Resistance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC): The Role of Histone Methyltransferase and Demethylase Inhibitors.
Review in Cancers, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Despite advances in multimodal treatment, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a major clinical problem owing to its high recurrence rate and frequent development of treatment resistance. Abnormal histone modifications, particularly lysine methylation regulated by methyltransferases (KMTs) and demethylases (KDMs), have emerged as key drivers of HNSCC initiation, progression, and cellular plasticity. This review aims to comprehensively evaluate the role of selected KMTs and KDMs in HNSCC biology, with a focus on their contribution to resistance to immunotherapy, radiotherapy, and cytotoxic chemotherapy. We summarize and critically analyze preclinical and clinical studies investigating histone methylation dynamics in HNSCC, with particular emphasis on enzymes such as KMT2C/D, EZH2, NSD1/NSD2, SMYD3, G9a/EHMT2, LSD1, KDM2A/B, KDM3, KDM4, KDM5, KDM6, KDM7, and KDM8. Attention is given particularly to pharmacological approaches targeting these proteins: we discuss small-molecule inhibitors of EZH2, LSD1, KDM4/5/6, and other KMT/KDMs that are currently in preclinical development or in early clinical trials, and we highlight completed and ongoing studies testing EZH1/2 inhibitors and epigenetic combinations in patients with recurrent and metastatic HNSCC. The deregulation of specific KMTs and KDMs reshapes histone methylation at key residues, thereby controlling cell cycle progression, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), stem cell phenotypes, DNA damage responses, and multiple interactions with the immune system in HNSCC. Targeting disrupted histone methylation pathways may partially reverse the epigenetic reprogramming of HNSCC cells and represents a promising strategy to improve treatment efficacy in patients with advanced disease. We also summarize the preclinical evidence and the currently limited clinical data on targeting histone methylation dynamics in HNSCC and discuss their therapeutic implications.
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Registered trials
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.