RATIONALE: Studying samples of blood and tissue from patients with cancer in the laboratory may help doctors learn more about changes that occur in DNA and identify biomarkers related to cancer. It may also help doctors predict how patients will respond to treatment.

PURPOSE: This laboratory study is looking at biomarkers in samples from patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer treated on ECOG-E1302 trial.

OBJECTIVES:

• To evaluate the frequency of ATP-binding cassette, sub-family G (WHITE), member 2 (ABCG2), met proto-oncogene (hepatocyte growth factor receptor) (c-MET), and v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (K-ras) polymorphisms or mutations in this study population and the predictiveness of these polymorphisms on survival, time to progression, response rate, and toxicities.

OUTLINE: Archived tumor tissue and peripheral blood mononuclear cells are analyzed for the frequency of ABCG2, c-MET, and K-ras polymorphisms or mutations by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results are then correlated with patients' clinical outcomes and toxicity.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Patients diagnosed with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer treated on Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)-E1302 trial

  • Patients treated with docetaxel with versus without gefitinib

• Existing paraffin blocks and peripheral blood mononuclear cells

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• Not specified

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

Samples from patients accrued to E1302 from which specimens were submitted for research.