title: Hypoxia, metabolism, and growth factor signaling in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: correlation between primary and xenograft tumors.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypoxia, metabolism, and growth factor signaling are important prognostic features in most solid tumors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) xenografts show similar biological and molecular characteristics as the primary tumor they originate from.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen HNSCC primary tumor-xenograft pairs were immunofluorescently stained for pimonidazole (hypoxia), carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1), monocarboxylate transporter-1 (MCT-1), monocarboxylate transporter-4 (MCT-4), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and phosphorylated protein kinase B (pAKT).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although no correlation was found for the amount of hypoxia, significant correlations between primary tumors and xenografts were observed for both the percentage of cells positive for expression and the hypoxia-related expression pattern of CAIX, GLUT-1, and MCT-1. For EGFR and MCT-4, the intensity of expression was correlated. No correlation was observed for pAKT.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Xenografts did not always resemble the primary tumor they originate from, but the xenografts did represent the variability in expression levels and patterns observed in the primary tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Hanneke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stegeman
authors.forename: Saskia E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Rademakers
authors.forename: Paul N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Span
authors.forename: Robert P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Takes
authors.forename: Albert J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van der Kogel
authors.forename: Johannes H A M
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kaanders
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bussink
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071231:Carbonic Anhydrase IX; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases / Q000378:metabolism; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015687:Cell Hypoxia / Q000502:physiology; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D064593:Heterografts / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D027501:Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters / Q000378:metabolism; D009368:Neoplasm Transplantation; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D051272:Glucose Transporter Type 1; D027501:Monocarboxylic Acid Transporters; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; C089226:CA9 protein, human; D000071231:Carbonic Anhydrase IX; D002256:Carbonic Anhydrases
keywords: growth factor signaling; head and neck squamous cell carcinoma; hypoxia; metabolism; xenografts