HypothesisIn oral cancer patients, the cancer cells tend to commonly spread to the lymph node in the neck. So in some patients, the cancer would have spread to the lymph node even at an early stage of oral cancer, while in some patients with advanced (T4 stage) oral cancer, the cancer would not have spread. To find out what determines lymph node metastasis in oral cancer patients, the team studied two groups of patients — those with lymph node metastasis and those with advanced oral cancer but without lymph node metastasis. There are five genomic features or biomarkers of lymph node metastasis in oral cancer patients. Besides TMC, the validation has to be done at other centres in India too.”“We have found that a patient who presents without lymph node metastasis survives longer disease-free after standard treatment for oral cancer than one with metastasis of the lymph node.

Source: The Hindu April 20, 2019 12:56 UTC