# Crosslinking B-Cell Lymphoma (BCL1) in Surgery Patients by Exploring Its Therapeutic Potential for Head and Neck Cancer Pathology

## TL;DR

This study shows that BCL1, a non-coding RNA, is overexpressed in head and neck cancers and could help predict tumor severity and treatment resistance.

## Contribution

The study quantifies BCL1 expression across HNC subtypes and links it to tumor aggressiveness and staging.

## Key findings

- BCL1 was overexpressed in SCC, HL, and PA compared to healthy controls.
- SCC patients showed the highest BCL1 expression, especially in advanced tumor stages.
- BCL1 overexpression correlates with tumor progression and chemotherapy resistance.

## Abstract

Background

Head and neck cancer (HNC) surrounds many malignancies that affect mucosal linings, lymphatic tissues, and salivary glands. The predominant subtypes include squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and pleomorphic adenoma (PA). One long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) known as B-cell lymphoma 1 (BCL1) has been observed to be a key regulator of tumor progression, metastasis, and resistance to chemotherapy.

Objective

This study aims to quantify the expression of BCL1 across HNC subtypes to evaluate its diagnostic and prognostic relevance.

Materials and methodology

A case-control study was conducted for nine months from February 2023 to October 2023. The study involved 160 HNC patients and 40 healthy controls. Blood samples were collected, and RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and RT-qPCR analysis were done afterward using BCL1-specific primers. Data were analyzed by using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in SPSS v.26 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, US) with p<0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results

In patients with HNC, elevated relative gene fold levels of BCL1 highlighted malignancy in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; 3.19±0.72), Hodgkin lymphoma (HL; 1.91±0.72), and pleomorphic adenoma (PA; 2.24±0.72), in comparison to the control group (1.07±0.72). SCC patients showed the highest expression, which correlated with advanced tumor stages (Stage IV: 60%).

Conclusion

There was an overexpression of BCL1 observed in HNC subtypes, which highlighted its role as an important biomarker for tumor aggressiveness and therapeutic resistance. This advocates its integration into frameworks of precision oncology.