Spheroid-based 3D Cell Cultures Enable Personalized Therapy Testing and Drug Discovery in Head and Neck Cancer.

Background/Aim: Chemo-radiation currently serves as first-line therapy of advanced and recurrent head and neck cancer, while new chemotherapy regimens are emerging. However, response rates to any treatment are difficult to predict and underlie broad variation. This study shows the development of a standardized, high-throughput in vitro assay to assess patients' individual response to therapy regimens as a future tool for personalized tumor therapy. Materials and Methods: Viability and proliferation analyses after chemo +/- radiation treatment of single spheroids (low adhesion plates/Hanging Drop (HD)) were generated from head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines and primary h…

Mononeuropathy multiplex as a result of treatment with interferon-α and ribavirin in a patient with hepatitis C

Impact of comorbidity and anemia in patients with oropharyngeal cancer primarily treated with surgery in the human papillomavirus era

Background. Comorbidity and anemia strongly influence treatment and outcome of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), but respective data are frequently lacking in clinical studies. We evaluated 149 cases of oropharyngeal SCC primarily treated with surgery regarding the impact of these factors on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Methods. Data were recorded during treatment and follow-up visits. Human papillomavirus (HPV) association of oropharyngeal SCC was detected by p16 immunohistochemistry. Results. Patients with p16-positive disease were significantly less comorbid and anemic, and treated more aggressively. Comorbidity and anemia, but not p16 status, signi…

Therapy Testing in a Spheroid-based 3D Cell Culture Model for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Current treatment options for advanced and recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) enclose radiation and chemo-radiation approaches with or without surgery. While platinum-based chemotherapy regimens currently represent the gold standard in terms of efficacy and are given in the vast majority of cases, new chemotherapy regimens, namely immunotherapy are emerging. However, the response rates and therapy resistance mechanisms for either chemo regimen are hard to predict and remain insufficiently understood. Broad variations of chemo and radiation resistance mechanisms are known to date. This study describes the development of a standardized, high-throughput in vitro assay to a…