NIH-funded study uncovers range of molecular alterations in head and neck cancers, new potential drug target

Investigators with The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network have discovered genomic differences – with potentially important clinical implications – in head and neck cancers caused by infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). The researchers also uncovered new smoking-related cancer subtypes and potential new drug targets, and found numerous genomic similarities with other cancer types. Taken together, this study’s findings may provide more detailed explanations of how HPV infection and smoking play roles in head and neck cancer risk and disease development, and offer potential novel diagnostic and treatment directions. Read more here.