In the Journal of Clinical Pathology, researchers in Taiwan report on their study of expression levels of a remodeling and spacing factor complex subunit in nasopharyngeal carcinomas, and their prognostic value. The researchers retroactively looked at 108 nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients and correlated their RSF-1 expression with clinical outcomes. "Rsf-1 overexpression is common and is associated with adverse prognosticators and therapeutic response, which confers tumor aggressiveness through chromatin remodeling, and represents a potential prognostic biomarker in NPC," the authors note.

Researchers led by Selvam Thavaraj at King's College London Dental Institute in the UK examined whether human papillomavirus is present in dysplastic and malignant oral verrucous lesions. Using a combination of DNA in situ hybridization, consensus PCR, and HPV genotype analysis by multiplex PCR followed by p16 immunohistochemistry assessment, the researchers found evidence to suggest that while HPV DNA may be found in a subset of lesions, it does not drive oncogenesis. "Further work is required to ascertain whether the virus is transient or persistent, to determine its biological significance and to elucidate non-HPV causative factors," Thavaraj and his colleagues add.