Nutritional and Molecular Challenges in Head and Neck Cancer: A Dual Front in Therapeutic Targeting and Drug Delivery

Rizvi, Saliha; Fatima, Naseem; Raza, Syed Tasleem

Volume 18, Issue 2 (June-2026 2026) Iranian Journal of Blood and Cancer 2026, 18(2): 1-14 | Back to browse issues page

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Rizvi S, Fatima N, Raza S T. Nutritional and Molecular Challenges in Head and Neck Cancer: A Dual Front in Therapeutic Targeting and Drug Delivery. Iranian Journal of Blood and Cancer 2026; 18 (2) :1-14
URL: http://ijbc.ir/article-1-1883-en.html

Nutritional and Molecular Challenges in Head and Neck Cancer: A Dual Front in Therapeutic Targeting and Drug Delivery

Saliha Rizvi ^*¹

, Naseem Fatima²

, Syed Tasleem Raza²

1- Department of Biotechnology, Era University, Lucknow, India. , rizvi_saliha@rediffmail.com
2- Department of Biochemistry, Era’s Lucknow Medical College & Hospital, Lucknow, India.

Abstract: (5 Views)

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is a heterogeneous and complicated category of malignancies with a high rate of tumor biology and a high morbidity rate related to treatment. In addition to genetic and molecular changes, patients with HNC often have severe nutritional and biochemical imbalances, such as hypoalbuminemia, anemia, and nutrition-related malnutrition related to cancer, which have a significant impact on the further course of the disease, its response to treatment, and clinical outcomes. Hypoalbuminemia changes drug pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution, anemia affects tumor oxygenation, radiotherapy efficacy and radically affects malnutrition effects on immune competence and treatment tolerance on drug delivery and precision therapy. Various signalling pathways like epidermal growth factor receptor pathway, PI3K-AKT-mTOR and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway help in tumor survival/proliferation and therapy resistance thus are critical as a target of therapeutic action. There is also emerging evidence of the involvement of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) and epigenetic biomarkers in the regulation of tumor behavior and treatment sensitivity and disease prognosis which provide new opportunities in the context of personalized medicine in HNC. The development of drug delivery vehicles like monoclonal antibodies, nanoparticle-based-vehicles, and optimized oral and intravenous preparations are focused on increasing the specificity of the therapeutic action and reducing the systemic toxicity. Nonetheless, the effectiveness of such interventions strongly depends on the nutritional and biochemical condition of a patient and this is why the combination of these approaches is crucial. This review highlights the two-fold task of targeting molecular pathways but at the same time treating nutritional and biochemical deficiencies and its recommendation is a holistic, patient-centered model to enhance therapeutic targeting, drug delivery, and clinical outcomes in head and neck cancer.

Keywords: Head and neck cancer, Nutritional status, Targeted therapy, Drug delivery systems, Targets, Molecular pathways, Precision oncology, Biomarkers

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: Review Article | Subject: Genetics
Received: 2026/03/27 | Accepted: 2026/06/1 | Published: 2026/06/9

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