Using NGS-panel covering 523 cancer related genes Kim S. et al. showed an increase in the frequency of TERT promoter mutations in young adults compared with older patients. TERT promoter mutation was identified in 59.1% cases. Using TCGA data on whole genome sequencing of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma the TERT promoter mutation was identified in 31.3% cases and tended to be related to both smoking and alcohol consumption, higher stage, more frequent perineural invasion, and worse overall survival than wild type. The authors suggest that TERT promoter mutations may serve as a prognostic biomarker of oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma in young patients.
