A novel finding that two gene mutations working together produce a more aggressive phenotype of head and neck cancer is pointing the way for the use of genetic information to more accurately identify and eventually treat head and neck cancer, much like applications currently being used for other cancer types, such as breast cancer. The study was published in Nature Genetics
According to Ezra Cohen, MD, professor in the division of hematology/oncology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and co-author of the study, this finding “will allow us to better stratify patients with head and neck cancer to provide more accurate prognosis, guide therapy, and, ultimately, choose specific treatments based on the genetic alterations of the tumor.”
In the study, investigators found that two genetic alterations (TP53 mutation and chromosome 3p loss) working together produced tumors that predicted a worse survival than tumors that contained either genetic alteration alone.
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