Whole exome sequencing and transcription profiling of a patient cohort of oral cavity squamous cell carcinomas

Oral cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OCSCC) is a common form of head and neck cancer through the developed and developing world. However, the etiology of OCSCC is still unclear. To explore whether smoking, HPV and/or other underlying genetic and transcriptomic changes could be responsible for the oncogenesis events for OCSCC. A prospective observational study of fresh tissue biopsy from 45 participants with OCSCC collected from Brisbane Head and Neck Clinics between 2013 to 2015. Exploration of the genetic and transcriptomic landscape was performed using RNA sequencing and whole exome sequencing. Identification of HPV was to be performed using DNA PCR genotyping and RNA sequencing. Patient medical records were retrieved and the patient demographics were used to correlate with genomic and transcriptomics analyses, including the location of the tumor within the oral cavity, smoking and alcohol histories.