Publication
Title
Co-targeting the EGFR and PI3K/Akt pathway to overcome therapeutic resistance in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma : what about autophagy?
Author
Abstract
Rmmunity by ensuring the release of antigens, potentially leading to recognition and elimination of the tumor, we believe that it is worth investigating autophagy as an anti-tumor mechanism in HNSCC.Resistance to EGFR-targeted therapy is a major obstacle on the road to effective treatment options for head and neck cancers. During the search for underlying mechanisms and regulators of this resistance, there were several indications that EGFR-targeted therapy resistance is (partially) mediated by aberrant signaling of the PI3K/Akt pathway. Genomic alterations in and/or overexpression of major components of the PI3K/Akt pathway are common in HNSCC tumors. Therefore, downstream effectors of the PI3K/Akt pathway serve as promising targets in the search for novel therapeutic strategies overcoming resistance to EGFR inhibitors. As both the EGFR/Ras/Raf/MAPK and the PI3K/Akt pathway are involved in autophagy, combinations of EGFR and PI3K/Akt pathway inhibitors can induce an autophagic response in tumor cells. This activation of autophagy can be seen as a "double-edge sword ", depending on the cellular context. Autophagy is largely known as a cytoprotective mechanism, but it can also be a mechanism of programmed (autophagic) cell death. The activation of autophagy during anti-cancer treatment is, therefore, not necessarily a bad sign. However, in HNSCC, the role of therapy-induced autophagy as an anti-tumor mechanism is still largely unclear. Further research is warranted to understand the potential of combination treatments targeting both the EGFR and PI3K/Akt pathway.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Cancers
Publication
Basel : Mdpi , 2022
ISSN
2072-6694
DOI
10.3390/CANCERS14246128
Volume/pages
14 :24 (2022) , p. 1-10
Article Reference
6128
ISI
000902393500001
Pubmed ID
36551613
Medium
E-only publicatie
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier c:irua:193386
Creation 02.02.2023
Last edited 04.01.2025
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