title: Statistical analyses of karyotypic complexity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: More than 250 head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) with clonal chromosomal abnormalities have been reported. Even though the pattern of aberrations is nonrandom, no specific primary or secondary karyotypic abnormalities have been identified. One explanation for the still-rudimentary understanding of the cytogenetic evolution in HNSCC could be the pronounced karyotypic complexity seen in these tumors. In an attempt to overcome this difficulty, we have applied several statistical methods such as hierarchical cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, and k-means clustering, which allow the identification and interpretation of karyotypic pathways, as well as establishing a temporal order of chromosomal imbalances on 241 published and 70 previously unpublished HNSCC karyotypes. From the analysis of the distribution of the number of imbalances per tumor we suggest that the carcinomas evolve through three phases representing different stages of chromosomal instability. Two major cytogenetic pathways, one dominated by gains and another by losses, were identified by means of principal component analysis. These were initiated by +7 and by any of the aberrations 1p-, 3p-, or 7q-, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Genetics, University Hospital, SE-221 85 Lund, Sweden. mattias.hoglund@klingen.lu.se
authors.forename: Mattias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Höglund
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gisselsson
authors.forename: Gunnar B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mitelman
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mertens
mesh_terms: D022981:Allelic Imbalance; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping / Q000379:methods*