Researchers at Queen Mary University, London have discovered a new gene interation which may influence the development of head and neck cancers.
The gene FOXM1 is well known for its involvement in cancer development, however a connection has now been shown between this gene and K15, a stem cell marker. The function of stem cells is to repair and replenish tissues in the body and so anything adversly affecting these cells may have implications in the development of cancer.
The research, carried out by Amrita Bose under the guidance of Dr Ahmad Waseem and his team, was funded by Saving Faces has been published in the online journal PLoS ONE.
For the not-so technically-minded: Link to the story on ScienceDaily
For the technically-minded: Link to interview with lead researcher, Dr Ahmad Waseem
For the very technically-minded: Link to full scientific paper