Disruption of in Head and Neck Cancer Promotes Favorable Chemotherapeutic Responses Linked to Hypomethylation.

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents a distinct classification of cancer with worse expected outcomes. Of the 11 genes recurrently mutated in HNSCC, we identify a singular and substantial survival advantage for mutations in the gene encoding Nuclear Set Domain Containing Protein 1 (), a histone methyltransferase altered in approximately 10% of patients. This effect, a 55% decrease in risk of death in -mutated versus non-mutated patients, can be validated in an independent cohort.