The worldwide incidence of head and neck cancer (HNC) exceeds half a million cases annually, and up to half of the patients with HNC present with advanced disease. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment for many HNCs, although radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy might contribute to individual patient’s treatment plan. Irrespective of which modality is chosen, disease prognosis remains suboptimal, especially for higher staging tumors. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has recently demonstrated a substantial anti-tumor effect. After a thorough literature search, we provide a comprehensive review depicting the oncological potential of CAP in HNC treatment. We discovered that CAP applies to almost all categories of HNC, including upper aerodigestive tract cancers, head and neck glandular cancers and skin cancers. In addition, CAP is truly versatile, as it can be applied not only directly for superficial or luminal tumors but also indirectly for deep solid organ tumors. Most importantly, CAP can work collaboratively with existing clinical oncotherapies with synergistic effect. After our attempts to elaborate the conceivable molecular mechanism of CAP’s anti-neoplastic effect for HNC, we provide a brief synopsis of recent clinical and preclinical trials emphasizing CAP’s applicability in head and neck oncology. In conclusion, we have enunciated our vision of plasma oncology using CAP for near future HNC treatment.

全球头颈癌 (HNC) 的发病率每年超过 50 万例，多达一半的 HNC 患者患有晚期疾病。尽管放射疗法、化学疗法、靶向疗法和免疫疗法可能有助于个体患者的治疗计划，但手术切除仍然是许多 HNC 的主要治疗方法。无论选择哪种方式，疾病预后都不是最理想的，尤其是对于分期较高的肿瘤。冷大气等离子体（CAP）最近显示出显着的抗肿瘤作用。经过彻底的文献检索，我们提供了全面的综述，描述了 CAP 在 HNC 治疗中的肿瘤学潜力。我们发现 CAP 适用于几乎所有类别的 HNC，包括上呼吸消化道癌、头颈部腺癌和皮肤癌。此外，CAP 具有真正的多功能性，因为它不仅可以直接应用于浅表或管腔肿瘤，还可以间接应用于深部实体器官肿瘤。最重要的是，CAP 可以与现有的临床肿瘤疗法协同工作，具有协同效应。在我们尝试详细阐述 CAP 对 HNC 的抗肿瘤作用的可能分子机制之后，我们简要介绍了最近的临床和临床前试验，强调 CAP 在头颈部肿瘤学中的适用性。总之，我们阐明了我们对使用 CAP 治疗近期 HNC 的血浆肿瘤学的愿景。CAP 可以与现有的临床肿瘤疗法协同工作，具有协同效应。在我们尝试详细阐述 CAP 对 HNC 的抗肿瘤作用的可能分子机制之后，我们简要介绍了最近的临床和临床前试验，强调 CAP 在头颈部肿瘤学中的适用性。总之，我们阐明了我们对使用 CAP 治疗近期 HNC 的血浆肿瘤学的愿景。CAP 可以与现有的临床肿瘤疗法协同工作，具有协同效应。在我们尝试详细阐述 CAP 对 HNC 的抗肿瘤作用的可能分子机制之后，我们简要介绍了最近的临床和临床前试验，强调 CAP 在头颈部肿瘤学中的适用性。总之，我们阐明了我们对使用 CAP 治疗近期 HNC 的血浆肿瘤学的愿景。