New: P477 Head and Neck Carcinoma

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the most common head and neck cancer, represents about 8% of global cancers, with higher prevalence in the Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific regions. HNSCC is marked by clinical, phenotypic, and genetic variability with unstable genomes, multiple chromosomal gains and losses, and other structural aberrations.

Among oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas (OCSCCs), the most common subtype of HNSCCs, two subgroups were identified in a recent collaboration between the Amsterdam University Medical Centre and MRC Holland: (i) CNA-quiet, with few or no copy number alterations (CNAs), and (ii) CNA-other, with multiple CNAs. CNA-quiet OCSCCs have a distinct gene profile, histological and clinical features, and a better prognosis.

SALSA^® MLPA^® Probemix P477 Head and neck carcinoma was developed as a result of this fruitful collaboration and was shown to be a suitable pre-screening method to detect CNA-other OCSCCs. It targets the most frequently altered regions in HNSCCs and includes 36 probes for the CUL3, PIK3CA, SOX2, FAT1, KIAA0825, EGFR, SNAI2, NFIB, CCND1, FADD, TGIF1 and BCL2L1 genes.