The International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) have published a special issue in the Journal of Dental Research (JDR) on head and neck cancer.

Dr. Jacques E. Nör, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA and Dr. J. Silvio Gutkind, University of California, San Diego, USA, served as the guest editors of this special issue.

Head and neck cancer encompasses a large and diverse group of tumours with complex etiology and pathobiology that is typically resistant to therapy, particularly when diagnosed in advanced stages.

The most common of these tumours are head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC), which are diagnosed in about half million people and result in a quarter million deaths every year worldwide.

Unfortunately, the overall 5-year survival of HNSCC patients has remained low at about 50-60% for the last 3-4 decades.

The lack of more effective therapies has been attributed to late diagnosis and to the intrinsic resistance of HNSCC cells to existing treatment modalities.

In recent years, the prospect of developing safe and efficient therapies for HNSCC has improved by a deeper understanding of the precise mechanisms underlying the biology of these tumours.

This special issue of the Journal of Dental Research brings together leaders in the field who discuss the state-of-the science in head and neck cancer and present new early diagnostic tools and mechanism-based and immune therapies that might benefit patients with this malignancy.

"We are witnessing a revolution in our understanding of HNSCC molecular pathobiology, and in the diagnosis and treatment of this malignancy," said Gutkind and Nör.

"The work performed by dedicated investigators is shining new light on HNSCC initiation and progression, and breaking new grounds on the discovery of novel prevention modalities and precision targeted and immune therapies. Collectively, these major research efforts aim at improving the survival and quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer."

This special issue includes articles on topics such as: The changing landscape in head and neck etiology, the elucidation of the head and neck cancer oncogenome, new precision therapies, the immune therapy revolution and improvements with early diagnosis.

Source: IADR