Editorial: Advancements in head and neck tumor treatment strategy driven by the perspective of precision oncology

A key challenge in HNSCC treatment is the dynamic evolution of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and its role in therapeutic resistance. Precision risk stratification therefore requires biomarkers that capture both local TME features and systemic host responses. Within this context, Liu et al. established hyaluronan-mediated motility receptor (HMMR) as an independent prognostic biomarker in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), with elevated expression associated with advanced T/N stage, higher pathological grade, and adverse survival outcomes. Mechanistically, HMMR may drive OSCC progression by orchestrating Th2/T helper cell infiltration, tumor proliferation, hypoxic responses, DNA damage repair, and G2/M checkpoint regulation, with its interaction network encompassing key cell-cycle regulators such as CDK1, CCNB1, and AURKA. Collectively, these findings position HMMR as a promising candidate for OSCC risk stratification and precision therapeutic development. As the contributions to this Research Topic collectively underscore, the future development of 80 precision oncology in head and neck cancer must move beyond conventional bulk-tumor profiling 81(Figure 1). However, precision oncology is not yet a flawless therapeutic paradigm. Constrained by 82 tumor heterogeneity, the complexity of multi-omics interpretation, the cost of technical platforms, and 83 barriers to clinical translation, many individualized strategies remain difficult to implement at scale in 84 real-world practice (Polverini et al., 2018). Therefore, at the current stage, a more pragmatic trajectory 85 for precision oncology may not be to design entirely new therapies for each patient from scratch, but 86 to adapt adjustable components in the established systems of screening, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance, and prevention according to individual molecular features, population-specific 88 backgrounds, and regional disease patterns. Although this approach may be less individualized than 89 fully customized therapy, it offers greater clinical accessibility, scalability, and translational feasibility, 90 better aligning precision medicine with routine clinical practice. 91 92