Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take Notice
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a group of common cancers characterized by a swift growth pattern, early metastasis, and dismal 5-year survival rates. Despite the recent advances in cancer management, the multimodality approach is not effective in eradicating HNSCC. Moreover, the cl...
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doaj-146a61ac297b41bb988d08b8a0f544472021-03-31T05:02:42ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Oral Health2673-48422021-03-01210.3389/froh.2021.666895666895Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take NoticeAbdelhakim Salem0Abdelhakim Salem1Tuula Salo2Tuula Salo3Tuula Salo4Tuula Salo5Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandTranslational Immunology Research Program (TRIMM), Research Program Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases, Clinicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandTranslational Immunology Research Program (TRIMM), Research Program Unit, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, FinlandCancer and Translational Medicine Research Unit, University of Oulu, Oulu, FinlandHelsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, FinlandHead and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a group of common cancers characterized by a swift growth pattern, early metastasis, and dismal 5-year survival rates. Despite the recent advances in cancer management, the multimodality approach is not effective in eradicating HNSCC. Moreover, the clinical response to the antiangiogenic therapy remains considerably limited in HNSCC patients, suggesting that tumor perfusion can take place through other non-angiogenic pathways. Tumor cell-induced angiogenesis is one of the main hallmarks of cancer. However, at the end of the previous millennium, a new paradigm of tumor cell-associated neovascularization has been reported in human melanoma cells. This new phenomenon, which was named “vasculogenic mimicry” or “vascular mimicry” (VM), describes the ability of aggressively growing tumor cells to form perfusable, matrix-rich, vessel-like networks in 3-dimensional matrices in vitro. Similar matrix-rich VM networks were also identified in tissue samples obtained from cancer patients. To date, myriad studies have reported intriguing features of VM in a wide variety of cancers including HNSCC. We aim in this mini-review to summarize the current evidence regarding the phenomenon of VM in HNSCC—from the available detection protocols and potentially involved mechanisms, to its prognostic value and the present limitations.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/froh.2021.666895/fullvasculogenic mimicrytumor cell-lined vesselshead and neck squamous cell carcinomaepithelial-mesenchymal transitionhypoxiasurvival |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Abdelhakim Salem Abdelhakim Salem Tuula Salo Tuula Salo Tuula Salo Tuula Salo |
spellingShingle |
Abdelhakim Salem Abdelhakim Salem Tuula Salo Tuula Salo Tuula Salo Tuula Salo Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take Notice Frontiers in Oral Health vasculogenic mimicry tumor cell-lined vessels head and neck squamous cell carcinoma epithelial-mesenchymal transition hypoxia survival |
author_facet |
Abdelhakim Salem Abdelhakim Salem Tuula Salo Tuula Salo Tuula Salo Tuula Salo |
author_sort |
Abdelhakim Salem |
title |
Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take Notice |
title_short |
Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take Notice |
title_full |
Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take Notice |
title_fullStr |
Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take Notice |
title_full_unstemmed |
Vasculogenic Mimicry in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Time to Take Notice |
title_sort |
vasculogenic mimicry in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma—time to take notice |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Oral Health |
issn |
2673-4842 |
publishDate |
2021-03-01 |
description |
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a group of common cancers characterized by a swift growth pattern, early metastasis, and dismal 5-year survival rates. Despite the recent advances in cancer management, the multimodality approach is not effective in eradicating HNSCC. Moreover, the clinical response to the antiangiogenic therapy remains considerably limited in HNSCC patients, suggesting that tumor perfusion can take place through other non-angiogenic pathways. Tumor cell-induced angiogenesis is one of the main hallmarks of cancer. However, at the end of the previous millennium, a new paradigm of tumor cell-associated neovascularization has been reported in human melanoma cells. This new phenomenon, which was named “vasculogenic mimicry” or “vascular mimicry” (VM), describes the ability of aggressively growing tumor cells to form perfusable, matrix-rich, vessel-like networks in 3-dimensional matrices in vitro. Similar matrix-rich VM networks were also identified in tissue samples obtained from cancer patients. To date, myriad studies have reported intriguing features of VM in a wide variety of cancers including HNSCC. We aim in this mini-review to summarize the current evidence regarding the phenomenon of VM in HNSCC—from the available detection protocols and potentially involved mechanisms, to its prognostic value and the present limitations. |
topic |
vasculogenic mimicry tumor cell-lined vessels head and neck squamous cell carcinoma epithelial-mesenchymal transition hypoxia survival |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/froh.2021.666895/full |
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