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.
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.
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.