An expression profile for diagnosis of lymph node metastases from primary head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Abstract

Metastasis is the process by which cancers spread to distinct sites in the body. It is the principal cause of death in individuals suffering from cancer. For some types of cancer, early detection of metastasis at lymph nodes close to the site of the primary tumor is pivotal for appropriate treatment. Because it can be difficult to detect lymph node metastases reliably, many individuals currently receive inappropriate treatment. We show here that DNA microarray gene-expression profiling can detect lymph node metastases for primary head and neck squamous cell carcinomas that arise in the oral cavity and oropharynx. The predictor, established with an 82-tumor training set, outperforms current clinical diagnosis when independently validated. The 102 predictor genes offer unique insights into the processes underlying metastasis. The results show that the metastatic state can be deciphered from the primary tumor gene-expression pattern and that treatment can be substantially improved.

Molecular profiling of cervical cancer progression

“…This method was used, as LN micrometastases can only be identified after histological examination of paraffin-embedded tissue, and fresh frozen human samples of LN micrometastases are difficult, if not impossible to obtain. The microfluidic card contained 96 genes previously described in tumour progression or identified as markers of metastasis or clinical outcome (van 't Veer et al, 2002;Ramaswamy et al, 2003;Rhodes and Chinnaiyan, 2004;Segal et al, 2004;Roepman et al, 2005). Data obtained from microarrays of RNA retrieved from paraffin-embedded tissue are not reliable hence our application of microfluidic cards with selected genes.…”

“…It became evident that many of these genes are epiphenomena and that only a subset of genes is associated with tumour progression and metastasis (Ramaswamy et al, 2003;Roepman et al, 2005). In cervical cancer, gene expression profiling could be a useful tool for molecular classification and prediction of treatment response, but large studies are lacking (Wong et al, 2003).…”

Comparative and integrative functional genomics of HCC

“…Gene expression profiling studies of various cancers have discovered consistent gene expression patterns associated with a histological or clinical phenotype and discovering subtypes of cancers previously unidentified with conventional technologies (Alizadeh et al, 2000;van de Vijver et al, 2002;Bullinger et al, 2004;Dave et al, 2004;Lapointe et al, 2004;Valk et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2004a;Roepman et al, 2005). This approach promises to provide diagnostic and prognostic markers that can be clinically used in the near future (Lossos et al, 2004).…”

“…In addition to large-scale DNA sequencing projects that have accomplished tremendous success in providing molecular architecture of genes and genomes, high-throughput gene expression profiling projects will continue to be the primary driver behind the comprehensive molecular catalogs of human disease. This new technology has been successfully used to predict the clinical outcome and survival as well as to classify different types of cancer (Alizadeh et al, 2000;Bittner et al, 2000;Beer et al, 2002;Lee and Thorgeirsson, 2002;van't Veer et al, 2002;Valk et al, 2004;Lee et al, 2004a;Roepman et al, 2005). This review summarizes recent studies on gene expression profiling of HCC aimed at better understanding the molecular pathogenesis of the disease, the promising clinical applications of the gene expression data as well as addressing the potential future use of this new technology.…”

Lysophosphatidic Acid-Induced TWIST1 and Slug Expression in Oral Cancer Cell Invasion

“…Oral cancer has a very high recurrence rate and frequently metastasizes to lymph nodes in the neck [1][2][3] . Metastasis of oral cancer occurs when cells become dissociated from tissue and are transported by the lymphatic and vascular systems.…”