The Prognostic and Therapeutic Value of the Mutational Profile of Blood and Tumor Tissue in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

CONCLUSION: This study illustrates the circulating and tumor genomic profile in the largest HNSCC cohort to date, underscoring the potential utility of ctDNA in prognostication and precision oncology treatment. For the first time, the presence of ctDNA alterations and specific ctDNA sequencing results were shown to be significantly associated with poor prognosis in HNSCC. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The use of precision genomic targeted therapies in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) lags behind many other cancers and poor survival in advanced stages indicates the urgent need for improved treatment options. This exploratory analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and tumor tissue DNA (tDNA) sequencing in the largest cohort to date of HNSCC patients provides a novel depiction of the ctDNA genome with two thirds of patients having actionable ctDNA alterations. We report for the first time the prognostic value of ctDNA sequencing, with the presence of ctDNA alterations, specific ctDNA alterations in DNA repair genes and TP53, and unique ctDNA alterations within partially concordant genes predicting poor survival. PMID: 33098199 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: The Oncologist - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Oncologist Source Type: research