Consistent administration of cetuximab is associated with favorable outcomes in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in an endemic carcinogen exposure area: a retrospective observational study

The role of the genomic mutation signature and tumor mutation burden on relapse risk prediction in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma after concurrent chemoradiotherapy

Personalized genetic profiling has focused on improving treatment efficacy and predicting risk stratification by identifying mutated genes and selecting targeted agents according to genetic testing. Therefore, we evaluated the role of genetic profiling and tumor mutation burden (TMB) using next-generation sequencing in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSC). The relapse mutation signature (RMS) and chromatin remodeling mutation signature (CRMS) were explored to predict the risk of relapse in patients with HNSC treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) with platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients in the high RMS and CRMS groups showed significantly shorter relapse-free survival than those in the low RMS and CRMS groups, respectively (p < 0.001 and p = 0.006). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that extranodal extension, CCRT response, and three somatic mutation profiles (TMB, RMS, and CRMS) were independent risk predictors for HNSC relapse. The predictive nomogram showed satisfactory performance in predicting relapse-free survival in patients with HNSC treated with CCRT.

Eugenol inhibits the biological activities of an oral squamous cell carcinoma cell line SCC9 via targeting MIF

BACKGROUND

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a rampant cancer type in head and neck cancers with a poor prognosis and a high recurrence rate. Eugenol shows anticancer effect in a variety of cancers, but it has been rarely studied in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

OBJECTIVE

Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the role of Eugenol in OSCC and the underlying mechanism.

METHODS

After different concentrations of Eugenol (0, 200, 400 and 800 μM) treatment, the viability, proliferation, migration and invasion of OSCC cell line SCC9 was measured by CCK-8, colony formation, wound-healing and transwell assays, respectively. TUNEL staining was employed to detect the apoptosis. Western blotting was used to evaluate gene expression at protein level. Molecular docking was used to identify the target of Eugenol.

RESULTS

Eugenol decreased the proliferation, reduced the abilities of invasion and migration along with the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) 2 and MMP9 in SCC9 cells. On the contrary, the ratio of apoptotic cells was increased by Eugenol. In addition, Eugenol down-regulated B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) expression, but up-regulated BCL-2 associated X (Bax), cleaved caspase 3 and cleaved poly-ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) expression. Meanwhile, Eugenol exerted its effect on SCC9 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Eugenol could bind to macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), the expression of which was down-regulated after Eugenol treatment. Besides, overexpression of MIF reversed all the effects of Eugenol on OSCC cells.

CONCLUSION

In summary, Eugenol suppressed the malignant processes of OSCC cells by targeting MIF, which could guide the clinical application of Eugenol in OSCC.