Gene expression and molecular pathways guide head and neck cancer therapies

WASHINGTON DC—Gene expression and molecular pathways in head and neck cancer have been identified with reference to The Cancer Genome Atlas in research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual conference. The PIK-3CA pathway and P 53 gene mutation were named as significant players in head and neck cancers by Dr David Neil Hayes of the Lineberger Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He told Peter Goodwin how his group’s analysis of tumour samples from patients with head and neck cancer have provided knowledge of disease mechanisms — revealing the need to individualise therapy with drugs such as epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors.