HPV+ head and neck cancer-derived small extracellular vesicles communicate with TRPV1+ neurons to mediate cancer pain.

Severe pain is often experienced by patients with head and neck cancer and is associated with a poor prognosis. Despite its frequency and severity, current treatments fail to adequately control cancer-associated pain because of our lack of mechanistic understanding. Although recent works have shed some light of the biology underlying pain in HPV-negative oral cancers, the mechanisms mediating pain in HPV+ cancers remain unknown.

A Novel Syngeneic Immunocompetent Mouse Model of Head and Neck Cancer Pain Independent of Interleukin-1 Signaling.

Background: Pain is one of the first presenting symptoms in patients with head and neck cancer, who often develop chronic and debilitating pain as the disease progresses. Pain is also an important prognostic marker for survival. Unfortunately, patients rarely receive effective pain treatment due to our limited knowledge of the mechanisms underlying head and neck cancer pain (HNCP).