Oral, nasal, pharyngeal, and laryngeal tumors are all grouped under the term head and neck cancer. Highly heterogeneous due to the variability of the carcinogenesis processes and the diversity of risk factors, head and neck cancer is a complex disease. The clinical management differs from other cancers due to the absence of biomarkers that could guide the diagnosis, the prognosis or even the therapeutic choice. In this context, it is crucial to identify candidates involved in tumor progression and therapeutic response/follow-up. Our team of scientists and clinicians has been working for several years on the involvement of specific genes and microRNAs in these cancers.
One of our research themes is linked to the radiochemical resistance mechanisms implemented by caveolin-1, a structural protein of caveola-like membrane microdomains, leading to the relapse of head and neck cancers.
A second priority thematic concerns the involvement of small non-coding RNAs in the local or systemic progression of head and neck cancers and their value as predictive biomarkers.
We are developing preclinical study models such as tumor cells derived from 2D patients and their organoid-like 3D tumor avatars. These models aim to provide a tool to support the personalized therapeutic management of the patient.
