Grant: Operating Grant

Oral cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer worldwide. Unfortunately, those diagnosed with this disease rarely survive longer than 5 years. Given that survival statistics for oral cancer have not changed for 20 years, there is a clear need for new approaches for diagnosing and treating this disease. Like many cancer types, oral tumors develop by progression from precancerous tissues through increasingly aggressive stages. Accumulated DNA mutations that alter gene behavior are the driving force behind the transformation of normal cells into invading cancerous cells. By identifying the DNA changes that exist in cells at each stage of oral cancer development, we will define the critical order of gene mutations that lead to an invasive tumor. Specific DNA changes will then be used to more accurately determine the stage of a given precancerous lesion, the likelihood that that lesion will progress to later disease stages, and the treatment that will work best against that lesion (since the underlying DNA changes can govern how a cell responds to drugs). The genes identified by this analysis will also be assessed in model systems of oral cancer in order to 1) better understand the mechanisms driving tumor cell behavior and 2) define targets for the next generation of chemotherapeutic agents. This work will create a new and valuable model for oral cancer research and has the potential to greatly impact survival rates associated with this dangerous disease.