Abstract
New therapeutic targets for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) are urgently needed. We conducted genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 screens in 21 OSCC cell lines, primarily derived from Asians, to identify genetic vulnerabilities that can be explored as therapeutic targets. We identify known and novel fitness genes and demonstrate that many previously identified OSCC-related cancer genes are non-essential and could have limited therapeutic value, while other fitness genes warrant further investigation for their potential as therapeutic targets. We validate a distinctive dependency on YAP1 and WWTR1 of the Hippo pathway, where the lost-of-fitness effect of one paralog can be compensated only in a subset of lines. We also discover that OSCCs with WWTR1 dependency signature are significantly associated with biomarkers of favorable response toward immunotherapy. In summary, we have delineated the genetic vulnerabilities of OSCC, enabling the prioritization of therapeutic targets for further exploration, including the targeting of YAP1 and WWTR1.
Highlights
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogeneous tumor arising from the mucosal surfaces lining the upper aerodigestive tract
We find that our selection of cell lines represents the diversity of mutated driver genes observed in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)
Genomics studies have shown that oncogenic mutations in OSCC are largely limited to PIK3CA and HRAS and even in these, mutations are only found in a small subset of patients
Summary
Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is a heterogeneous tumor arising from the mucosal surfaces lining the upper aerodigestive tract. An improvement in patients’ outcome is anticipated with the advancement of immunotherapy, clinical trial outcomes showed an average objective response rate of only 13–36% (Bauml et al, 2017; Burtness et al, 2019; Ferris et al, 2016), and the factors determining response towards checkpoint inhibitors are still largely unknown. This underscores the need to identify further therapeutic targets for OSCC
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