title: Molecular profiling of tumor progression in head and neck cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess gene expression changes associated with tumor progression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.
  
  
  METHODS
  A microarray containing 17 840 complementary DNA clones was used to measure gene expression changes associated with tumor progression in 9 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. Samples were taken for analysis from the primary tumor, nodal metastasis, and "normal" mucosa from the patients' oral cavity.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care facility. Patients Nine patients with stage III or stage IV untreated oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our analysis to categorize genes based on their expression patterns has identified 140 genes that consistently increased in expression during progression from normal tissue to invasive tumor and subsequently to metastatic node (in at least 4 of the 9 cases studied). A similar list of 94 genes has been identified that decreased in expression during tumor progression and metastasis. We validated this gene discovery approach by selecting moesin (a member of the ezrin/radixin/moesin [ERM] family of cytoskeletal proteins) and one of the genes that consistently increased in expression during tumor progression for subsequent immunohistochemical analysis using a head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissue array.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A distinct pattern of gene expression, with progressive up- or down-regulation of expression, is found during the progression from histologically normal tissue to primary carcinoma and to nodal metastasis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine/Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10461, USA. tbelbin@aecom.yu.edu
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Belbin
authors.forename: Bhuvanesh
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Richard V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Nicholas D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Socci
authors.forename: Volkert B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Wreesmann
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Carbayo
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Masterson
authors.forename: Snehal
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cordon-Cardo
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Prystowsky
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Childs
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D018450:Disease Progression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D009055:Mouth; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
chemical_list: D008840:Microfilament Proteins; C071058:moesin