Publication at First Faculty of Medicine, Second Faculty of Medicine |
2016
Abstract
Squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck still belongs to the diseases with very uncertain prognosis. Effectivity of the treatment remains approximately the same during the recent years despite the considerable progress in therapeutic methods and increasing level of knowledge about the biology of the tumor cells in relation with the host.
Oropharyngeal cancers associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection are different in clinical manifestation, course and prognosis. One may speculate that this fact can be explained by the distinction of the immune system.
The main characteristics of immune response of HPV associated tumors and cancers with the different etiology are summarized in the text.