NUT carcinoma (NC; formerly NUT midline carcinoma (NMC)) is a rare genetically defined, very aggressive squamous cell epithelial cancer that usually arises in the midline of the body and is characterized by a chromosomal rearrangement in the nuclear protein in testis gene (i.e. NUTM1 gene).

[2] In approximately 75% of cases, the coding sequence of NUTM1 in band 14 on the long (or "q") arm of chromosome 15 is fused to BRD4 or BRD3, which creates a chimeric gene that encodes the BRD-NUT fusion protein.

If the tumor involves the head and neck region (in about 35%), then pain, a mass, obstructive symptoms, among others, may be experienced.

[7][8] NC when viewed microscopically, are poorly differentiated carcinomas which show abrupt transitions to islands of well-differentiated squamous epithelium.

As the mean survival under this treatment regimen is only 5–7 months,[12][7] more specific treatment options are under investigation: Specific molecular targeted therapies (including BET inhibitors and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi)) may help to yield growth arrest of the neoplastic cells.

These models demonstrate that BRD4-NUT alone drives malignant transformation and spread of NUT carcinoma and will help enable the discovery and development of novel, targeted therapies for NC.