Dietary factors have been implicated in the risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Much interest has been placed upon the effects of suspected chemopreventative agents found in fruit and vegetables associated with low HNSCC risk. However, studies investigating specific uptake of these agents have failed to show positive results. The possibility exists that single chemopreventative agents fail to provide the same beneficial effect as the various compounds found in a fruits and vegetables is examined. Curatively treated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma patients ingested Juice Plus, a F&V extract supplement containing multiple chemopreventative agents, for 12 weeks. Lymphocyte samples of participants were collect pre- and post- treatment and examined in pairs. Despite the study currently still blinded, surrogate endpoint biomarkers were evaluated to observer any modification between pre- and post treatment samples. Although a paired t-test showed no significant difference between pre- and post treatment samples on surrogate endpoint biomarkers, there is a significant difference in population distribution between treatment times signifying a modification of the surrogate endpoint biomarkers. The exact nature of this difference is pending due to the blinded status of the study.

When damaged DNA is detected during replication, a checkpoint delays the cell cycle to allow time for repair. Here I show that continually delaying the cell cycle in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle stabilizes the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae in both checkpoint proficient and deficient cells; a phenomenon I call slow cycle stabilization (SCS). SCS stabilizes the genome in cells defective for DNA damage response (DDR), spindle checkpoint, and telomere biology, as well as wild type (WT) cells. I verify SCS using genetic and chemical means and further substantiate SCS using three different Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome systems.