Panoptosis – new frontier in research in head neck cancer

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a common cancer that can develop resistance to therapeutic approaches, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. PANoptosis, a non-apoptotic cell death mechanism, has been identified as a potential solution. PANoptosis is a highly coordinated and dynamically balanced programmed inflammatory cell death pathway that combines the main features of pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis. It has been linked to the development of multiple systemic diseases in the human body, including infectious diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammatory diseases. The innate immune system provides the first line of defense against cellular perturbations, and inflammatory programmed cell death is elicited in response to microbial infections or alterations in cellular homeostasis. Programmed cell death (PCD) is a key mechanism for studying anticancer drugs and has a significant impact on the development and management of cancer. Recent research has revealed the existence of the distinct inflammatory PCD modality known as PANoptosis, which is controlled by complex PANoptosome complexes built by combining elements from different PCD pathways. No single PCD route is sufficient to explain all of the physiologic effects seen in PANoptosis. Numerous studies have demonstrated that PANoptosis can successfully stop cancer cells from growing, proliferating, and developing drug resistance, changing the focus of targeted anticancer therapy.

Keywords

• Head neck cancer
• Panoptosis
• Cancer
• Apoptosis
• Pyroptosis
• Necroptosis