engleski

Next generation sequencing of small RNA in head and neck cancer

Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is the 7th most common malignancy worldwide. However, tumours of this region can broadly be divided in two groups: HPV positive tumours, often of oropharyngeal origin, in younger patients and associated with better survival ; and HPV negative tumours that are associated to classical risk factors (heavy smoking or drinking, old age), without preferential origin, and with worse prognosis. Small RNA is a group of non-coding RNA molecules that exhibit regulatory roles in normal cellular signalling and development but also in different disease stages. Most prominent are miRNA that are approximately 18-23 bp long RNA molecules, of which several thousand are already described in humans (www.mirbase.org). MicoRNAs are known to be deregulated in cancer, including cancers of the head and neck region. One of the goal of the on-going Epic-HNSCC research project was to reveal miRNA expression differences within different types of head and neck tumours by next generation sequencing (Illumina). The results revealed that only a subset of miRNA can be attributed to HPV positive tumours, while there are many other deregulated miRNA in head and neck cancer.

Epigenetic ; microRNA ; Head and Neck Cancer

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