Deficiencies in the Fanconi anemia DNA damage response pathway increase sensitivity to HPV-associated head and neck cancer.

ABSTRACT: Patients with the rare genetic disease, Fanconi anemia (FA), are highly susceptible to squamous cell carcinomas arising at multiple anatomic sites including the head and neck region. Human papillomaviruses (HPVs), particularly HPV16, are associated with ∼20% of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) in the general population. Some but not other investigators have reported that HNSCCs in FA patients are much more frequently positive for HPV. In addition, studies have demonstrated an interaction between the HPV16 E7 oncoprotein and the FA pathway, a DNA damage response pathway deficient in FA patients. On the basis of these studies, it was hypothesized that the FA pathway contributes to repair of DNA damage induced by HPV16 E7, providing one explanation for why FA patients are predi

SUBMITTER: Park JW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2999655 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature