The importance of specificity of drug treatment in head and neck cancer: current developments in personalized medicine to improve safety and tolerability.

INTRODUCTION: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remains a treatment challenge, with frequent recurrences following localized disease and guarded outcomes in recurrent/metastatic (R/M) settings. While cytotoxic therapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have produced incremental survival benefits, many patients still exhibit limited response or acquire resistance to treatment, highlighting a critical need for more personalized and novel therapeutic strategies.

AREAS COVERED: This review discusses personalized therapy approaches in HNSCC from 2020 to 2025, focusing on immune checkpoint blockade and newer therapeutic modalities. Additionally, this review highlights key biomarkers that are currently being evaluated for predictive and prognostic value in HNSCC. The literature was sourced through PubMed, Google Scholar, and conference abstracts from ASCO, ESMO, and AACR, covering publications from January 2020-June 2025, with a focus on peer-reviewed trials and translational studies in human subjects.

EXPERT OPINION: The future of HNSCC treatment lies in the development of novel treatment combinations integrating immunotherapy using immune checkpoint blockade with newer therapeutic approaches. Understanding which agents to use, and when in the course of treatment, stands as a challenge that will shape the future of precision therapy for HNSCC, with integration of biomarkers promising to guide this transition.