Exploiting the Molecular Basis of Oesophageal Cancer for Targeted Therapies and Biomarkers for Drug Response: Guiding Clinical Decision-Making.

Worldwide, oesophageal cancer is the sixth leading cause of deaths related to cancer and represents a major health concern. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the regions of the world with the highest incidence and mortality rates for oesophageal cancer and most of the cases of oesophageal cancer in this region are oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). The development and progression of OSCC is characterized by genomic changes which can be utilized as diagnostic or prognostic markers.

MicroRNA and Alternative mRNA Splicing Events in Cancer Drug Response/Resistance: Potent Therapeutic Targets.

Cancer is a multifaceted disease that involves several molecular mechanisms including changes in gene expression. Two important processes altered in cancer that lead to changes in gene expression include altered microRNA (miRNA) expression and aberrant splicing events. MiRNAs are short non-coding RNAs that play a central role in regulating RNA silencing and gene expression.

Prognostic Alternative Splicing Signatures in Esophageal Carcinoma.

Alternative splicing (AS) is a method of increasing the number of proteins that the genome is capable of coding for, by altering the pre-mRNA during its maturation. This process provides the ability of a broad range of proteins to arise from a single gene. AS events are known to occur in up to 94% of human genes.

Genetic Drivers of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Aberrant Splicing Events, Mutational Burden, HPV Infection and Future Targets.

Head and neck cancers include cancers that originate from a variety of locations. These include the mouth, nasal cavity, throat, sinuses, and salivary glands. These cancers are the sixth most diagnosed cancers worldwide.