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Preoperative Immunotherapy In The Multidisciplinary Management Of Oral Cavity Cancer., Ramez Philips, Md, Chihun Han, Brian Swendseid, Md, Joseph Curry, Athanassios Argiris, Adam Luginbuhl, Jennifer Johnson, Md

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

Despite advances in multimodal treatment for oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma, recurrence rates remain high, providing an opportunity for new therapeutic modalities that may improve oncologic outcomes. Much recent attention has been paid to the molecular interactions between the tumor cells with the adjacent peritumoral microenvironment, in which immunosuppressive molecular changes create a landscape that promotes tumor progression. The rationale for the introduction of immunotherapy is to reverse the balance of these immune interactions in a way that utilizes the host immune system to attack tumor cells. In the preoperative setting, immunotherapy has the advantage of priming the unresected tumor …