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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
Intramucosal Inoculation of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cells in Mice for Tumor Immune Profiling and Treatment Response Assessment
Published on: April 22, 2019
Tumor-specific genetic expression profile of metastatic oral squamous cell carcinoma
Eduardo Méndez1, Wenhong Fan, Peter Choi
1Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.
Background:
Metastasis is the most important predictor of survival in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We tested the hypothesis that there is a genetic expression profile associated with OSCC metastasis.
Methods:
We obtained samples from 6 OSCC node-positive primary tumors and their matched metastatic lymph nodes, and 5 OSCC node-negative primary tumors. Using laser capture microdissection, we isolated OSCC cells from metastatic lymph nodes and compared them with those from matched primary tumors and unmatched node-negative primary tumors using Affymetrix Human Genome Focus arrays.
Results:
Comparison of tumor cells from the lymph nodes with those from the unmatched, node-negative primary tumors revealed differential expression of 160 genes. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis using this 160-gene set showed that the node-negative samples were distinguishable from both, node-positive primary tumors and tumors in the lymph nodes. Many of the expression changes found in the metastatic cells from the lymph nodes were also found in the node-positive primary tumors. Immunohistochemical analysis for transglutaminase-3 and keratin 16 confirmed the differential genetic expression for these genes.
Conclusion:
These preliminary results suggest that there may be a metastatic gene expression profile present in node-positive primary OSCC.
