Head and Neck Cancer Therapeutics Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Technological advancements in cancer diagnostics: There have been significant technological developments in the diagnosis-screening process and an increase in research to create novel cancer treatments. For instance, nanotechnology facilitates the isolation and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) from bodily fluids. This non-invasive approach can detect cancer at earlier stages and monitor treatment responses. According to a 2022 published report on Gold nanomaterials for oral cancer diagnosis and therapy, adding Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) or normal human serum demonstrated 80.7% sensitivity, 84.1% specificity, and an overall accuracy rate of 81.1% for OSSC diagnosis. 
  
  Most people with head and neck cancer (HNC) are diagnosed at an advanced stage and usually have a poor prognosis because of the disease’s propensity to spread swiftly into nearby tissues and produce distant metastases. In order to diagnose the illness early, researchers are working to develop new screening techniques.

• Burgeoning incidences of human papillomavirus (HPV): HPV, specifically HPV type 16, significantly increases the risk of oropharyngeal cancers, particularly those impacting the tonsils and the base of the tongue. The growing prevalence of HPV-related infections has been associated with an increase in these specific types of cancers. Also, head and neck cancers that are HPV-positive typically strike younger people who may not have established risk factors such as alcohol or tobacco use.
  
  Consequently, there is an increasing need for efficient treatments to reduce symptoms and enhance patients' quality of life as HPV incidence rises globally. The World Health Organization stated that the global prevalence of HPV was 31%, while the prevalence of high-risk HPV was 21% in 2022. The most common HPV genotype was HPV-16 (5%) and then HPV-6 (4%). Young individuals had a high prevalence of HPV, which peaked between the ages of 25 and 29 and then stabilized or slightly declined.  
• Development of new drugs: An increase in R&D efforts related to discovering new therapeutic targets and interdisciplinary treatment modalities will raise the survival rate of patients with head and neck cancers. In December 2023, Exelixis, Inc. announced the start of STELLAR-305, a phase 2/3 pivotal trial comparing zanzalintinib with pembrolizumab to pembrolizumab alone in patients with untreated PD-L1-positive recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

Challenges

• Severe medication effects: Chemotherapy medications are intended to kill rapidly proliferating cells. However, since they cannot distinguish between malignant and healthy cells, their use can have unexpected adverse effects. Chemotherapy side effects that are most frequently reported include fatigue, neuropathy, loss of appetite, and hearing loss. To decrease the negative effects of head and neck cancer medications, a physician may, nevertheless, change the dosage, consider other medications, or suggest support services.

• Higher treatment costs: If identified early, head and neck cancer is highly curable, often with a single modality of treatment. Advanced head and neck cancer is typically treated with a combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, which raises the expense of treatment impeding the head and neck cancer therapeutics market from growing.