Therapeutic Targeting of MYC in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

MYC plays critical roles in tumorigenesis and it is considered a beautiful cancer therapeutic target. Small molecules that directly target MYC and therefore are well tolerated in vivo represent invaluable anti-cancer therapeutic agents. Here, we aimed to research the therapeutic aftereffect of MYC inhibitors in mind and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The outcomes demonstrated that medicinal and genetic inhibition of MYC inhibited HNSCC proliferation and migration. MYC inhibitor 975 (MYCi975), inhibited HNSCC development in both cell line-derived xenograft and syngeneic murine models. MYC inhibition also caused tumor cell-intrinsic immune responses, and promoted CD8  T cell infiltration. Mechanistically, MYC inhibition elevated CD8  T cell-recruiting chemokines by creating the DNA damage related cGAS-STING path. High expression of MYC coupled with a minimal degree of infiltrated CD8  T cell in HNSCC correlated with poor prognosis. These results recommended the potential for small-molecule MYC inhibitors as anti-cancer therapeutic agents in HNSCC.