Substance P and Neurokinin 1 Receptor in Chronic Inflammation and Cancer of the Head and Neck: A Review of the Literature Esteban, Francisco Ramos García, Pablo González Moles, Miguel Ángel Substance P NK1R Head and neck cancer Squamous cell carcinoma Chronic inflammation Head and neck cancer is a growing worldwide public health problem, accounting for approximately 1,500,000 new cases and 500,000 deaths annually. Substance P (SP) is a peptide of the tachykinin family, which has roles related to a large number of physiological mechanisms in humans. The implications of SP in carcinogenesis have recently been reported through the stimulation of the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), or directly, through the effects derived from the constitutive activation of NK1R. Consequently, SP/NK1R seems to play relevant roles in cancer, upregulating cell proliferation, cell migration and chronic inflammation, among other oncogenic actions. Furthermore, there is growing evidence pointing to a central role for SP in tumour progression, singularly so in laryngeal and oral squamous cell carcinomas. The current narrative review of the literature focuses on the relationship between the SP/NK1R system and chronic inflammation and cancer in the headand- neck region. We described a role for SP/NK1R in the transition from chronic inflammation of the head and neck mucosa, to preneoplastic and neoplastic transformation and progression. 2022-02-03T11:30:00Z 2022-02-03T11:30:00Z 2021-12-30 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Esteban, F... [et al.]. Substance P and Neurokinin 1 Receptor in Chronic Inflammation and Cancer of the Head and Neck: A Review of the Literature. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 375. [https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010375] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/72637 10.3390/ijerph19010375 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución 3.0 España MDPI