Personalized Targeted Therapeutic Strategies against Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma. An Evidence-Based Review of Literature

Mingxin Cao,1,* Enyu Shi,1,* Hanping Wang,1 Lujia Mao,1 Qiqi Wu,1 Xinming Li,2 Yanjie Liang,1 Xiaoying Yang,3 Yinsong Wang,1,3 Changyi Li1 1School and Hospital of Stomatology, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, People’s Republic of China; 2Tianjin Stomatological Hospital, School of Medicine, Nankai University, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Oral and Maxillofacial Function Reconstruction, Tianjin, 300041, People’s Republic of China; 3Tianjin Key Laboratory of Technologies Enabling Development of Clinical Therapeutics and Diagnostics, School of Pharmacy, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, 300070, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yinsong Wang; Changyi Li, Email wangyinsong@tmu.edu.cn; lichangyi@tmu.edu.cnAbstract: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common type of malignant tumor in the head and neck, with a poor prognosis mainly due to recurrence and metastasis. Classical treatment modalities for OSCC like surgery and radiotherapy have difficulties in dealing with metastatic tumors, and together with chemotherapy, they have major problems related to non-specific cell death. Molecular targeted therapies offer solutions to these problems through not only potentially maximizing the anticancer efficacy but also minimizing the treatment-related toxicity. Among them, the receptor-mediated targeted delivery of anticancer therapeutics remains the most promising one. As OSCC exhibits a heterogeneous nature, selecting the appropriate receptors for targeting is the prerequisite. Hence, we reviewed the OSCC-associated receptors previously used in targeted therapy, focused on their biochemical characteristics and expression patterns, and discussed the application potential in personalized targeted therapy of OSCC. We hope that a better comprehension of this subject will help to provide the fundamental information for OSCC personalized therapeutic planning.Keywords: oral squamous cell carcinoma, receptors, targeted therapy, active targeting, drug delivery