SULF2, a recently identified heparin-degrading endosulfatase could be used to predict survival and recurrence rates for nasopharyngeal cancer, according to researchers from the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center.

The researchers examined tumor tissue from 55 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the nasopharynx, otherwise known as nasopharyngeal cancer. All patients had been treated by radiation therapy and follow-up was conducted for 10 years. The investigators found that rates of early recurrence (within five years) were significantly higher for individuals with high levels of SULF2 in the tumor (expressed in more than 10 percent of cancer cells). These same individuals were much more likely to die within 10 years.

SULF2 may thus pose an implication on the way individual nasopharyngeal cancer patients are treated. The enzyme also appears to be a factor in liver cancer. More details from the Mayo Clinic news release.