Cancer gene may aid researchers find how immune system can help treat cancer or predict outcomes
Source: immuno-oncologynews.com Author: Daniela Semedo, PhD University of Cincinnati scientists have recently discovered that DEK, a human gene known to cause cancer, can be detected in the plasma of patients with head and neck cancer. DEK may help clinicians understand how a person’s immune system can be used to treat cancer or predict outcomes for patients. The information, titled “The DEK oncogene can be detected in the plasma of head and neck cancer patients and may predict immune response and prognosis,” was presented via poster at the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium Feb. 18-20 in Scottsdale, Arizona. “Head and neck cancer remains the sixth most common cancer worldwide,” said Trisha Wise-Draper, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Division of Hematology Oncology at the UC College of Medicine, in a news release. Wise-Draper is a member of both the Cincinnati Cancer Center and UC Cancer Institute and she was the principal investigator on this study. “Although infection with the human papilloma virus, or HPV, has emerged as a factor for determining outcomes for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma [head and neck cancer], leading to less intense treatment strategies for patients, no plasma biomarkers exist to predict tumor response to treatment or possible relapse,” she said. “One potential plasma biomarker is programmed by the human DEK gene, which has been found to promote cancer. DEK RNA and protein are highly increased in tissue specimens from several tumor types, including head and neck cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma, and antibodies to [...]