# Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor CHRNA5 is overexpressed in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients with a recent tobacco smoking history

## TL;DR

This study finds that the CHRNA5 gene is overexpressed in head and neck cancers linked to recent smoking, which may worsen patient outcomes.

## Contribution

The study identifies CHRNA5 overexpression as a novel marker in smoking-related HNSCC with implications for prognosis and immune response.

## Key findings

- CHRNA5 is overexpressed in HNSCC cases with recent tobacco smoking history.
- CHRNA5 overexpression correlates with worse prognosis in these patients.
- CHRNA5 overexpression is inversely linked to immune-related gene expression signatures.

## Abstract

Tobacco smoking is a major driver of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) occurrence, and previous studies have shed light on the precise molecular alterations in tobacco-related HNSCCs when compared to HNSCCs associated with other risk factors (ex: human papillomavirus/HPV status). In this study, we analyzed the gene expression differences in HNSCC cases with a recent smoking history and revealed that the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor CHRNA5 is differentially overexpressed in smoking-related HNSCCs. CHRNA5 overexpression in these HNSCCs corresponds with a worse prognosis and is inversely correlated with an immune expression signature commonly associated with better prognosis. From these results, our study highlights the potential role of the nicotine-activated CHRNA5 receptor in HNSCC progression and corresponds with other recent reports highlighting the potential role of nicotine induction in promoting cancer progression.