Exonic Mutation Signature of Head-Neck Cancer---Integrative Analyses of Transcriptomic and Genomic Profiles by Microarray and Next Generation Sequencing Techniques

In Taiwan, the incidence of head and neck cancer (HNC) has become the 6th leading cancer, the 4th leading cancer in male since year 2009, and is increasing in the recent years. Since this cancer usually occurs in the middle age m ale, at the high peak of life responsibility, it has tremendous impact of family and society. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a technical evolution which provides new technology of studying in malignant neoplasm. The targeting NGS technology, mainly through exonic sequencing provides efficient and cost- effective method to efficiently discover disease-causing exonic mutation. In this proposed study, we intend to determine exonic mutation signature of HNC through integrative analyses of transcriptomic and genomic profiles by microarray and next generation sequencing techniques. The biological functions of these exonic mutators leading to malignancy will be investigated. Finally, these mutator signatures will be further correlated with clinicopathological status to evaluate the biological function and clinical significance. Results of this study may provide valuable information of the mutator signature on molecular diagnosis, risk stratification and prediction of the disease progress and treatment efficacy. With the possibility of detection such mutation signatures in HNC, the personalized molecular medicine may become a promising choice in the future. The specific aims and research designs are briefly describe below. Aim #1. Global selection of significant genes associated with HNC, through integrative analysis of genomic and transcriptomic profiles. Aim #2. Identification of the exonic variants associated with HNC, using targeting NGS techniques. Aim #3. Functional characterization of the exonic mutators leading to malignant transformation of HNC. Aim # 4. Assessment for the clinical significance of the exonic mutators in HNC.

Project ID:PC10408-1256
External Project ID:MOST104-2320-B182-023-MY3