- Tillman, Brittny N;
- Yanik, Megan;
- Birkeland, Andrew C;
- Liu, Chia-Jen;
- Hovelson, Daniel H;
- Cani, Andi K;
- Palanisamy, Nallasivam;
- Carskadon, Shannon;
- Carey, Thomas E;
- Bradford, Carol R;
- Tomlins, Scott A;
- McHugh, Jonathan B;
- Spector, Matthew E;
- Brenner, J Chad
Background
Targeted sequencing of patients with epidemiologically low-risk (ELR) head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) could help identify novel drivers or lost suppressors leading to precision medicine protocols and improved survival rates.Methods
A patient with ELR-HNSCC was selected for targeted sequencing. We then assessed next generation sequencing cohorts from the Oncomine Powertool Database, which contains pan-cancer data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).Results
Targeted sequencing revealed fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1) amplifications as a putative driver of the patient's tumor. Patients with HNSCC from TCGA data demonstrated fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family mutations, rearrangements, or amplifications in over 35% of HNSCC cases, with a statistically significant higher frequency in African American populations. FGF alterations were unique from activating phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PIK3CA) mutations.Conclusion
Together, these data suggest that FGF signaling may be critical for a subset of patients with HNSCC independent of other known pathways and provides rationale for leveraging patients with ELR-HNSCC to define molecular subsets of high-risk HNSCC. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E1646-E1652, 2016.
