New method of predicting aggressiveness of oral cancer detailed

Researchers in the US have developed a promising new method for predicting the aggressiveness of oral cancer in human patients.

The team from the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have looked at mouth cancer in mice and identified a consistent pattern of gene expression associated with the spread of tumours.

Analysing genetic data from human oral cancer samples, they also found the same gene signature in humans with aggressive metastatic tumours. This represents a first step towards creating a diagnostic test to determine which patients are at greatest risk.

This is a potentially important discovery as diagnostic tests of this kind have already helped to greatly improve the treatment of other forms of cancer, most notably including breast cancer.

Dr Ravindra Uppaluri, associate professor of otolaryngology at the university, said: "They are transformative genetic tests that can alter the clinical management of patients, tailoring therapies especially for them. It's our goal to develop something like that for head and neck cancer."

Oral cancer is a relatively uncommon form of the disease, with just over 6,200 new cases of mouth cancer diagnosed in the UK in 2009.