Role of the NF-κB transcriptome and proteome as biomarkers in human head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

NF-kappa B is a family of signal-activated transcription factors comprising hetero- or homodimers from five different subunits, NF-kappa B1, NF-kappa B2, RELA, cREL and RELB. NF-kappa Bs are normally transiently activated in response to infection or injury, but in cancers are aberrantly activated, regulating a transcriptome of hundreds of genes and corresponding proteome that promote pathogenesis and therapeutic resistance. In head and neck squamous cell carcinomas, an important role of NF-kappa B in the regulation of the altered transcriptome and proteome has been established, providing a catalog of activating and target genes and proteins that may be useful as biomarkers of alterations in this pathway for this and other cancers. An emerging appreciation that NF-kappa B and other signal pathways form an altered regulatory network highlights the need to use biomarkers and combine targeted agents for personalized therapy of cancer.