Dr. Christine Chung, MD

Dr. Chung's laboratory was among the first to recognize the importance of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the etiology of certain HNC as seen in one of the four subtypes in our molecular characterization study. Specifically the research showed that the most significantly deregulated genes in the HPV-positive tumors are cell cycle regulators. These data provided evidence that HPV-positive tumors may be more sensitive to chemotherapy and molecular inhibitors that specifically target cell cycle. In addition, her research findings contributed to establish the prognostic implication of the HPV status. Patients with HPV-positive HNC have a better prognosis compared to patients with HPV-negative HNC. This work is important clinically because HPV-related HNC may not require the same level of intense, highly toxic therapy commonly employed in the management of HPV-negative HNC. In fact, in this group of patients with a good prognosis, the risk of long term toxicities may outweigh the benefit of aggressive treatment. Dr. Chung is conducting clinical trials to develop less toxic but effective molecularly targeted agents which can potentially benefit this subset of HNC patients.