Detection of deregulated pathways to lymphatic metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a common malignancy, in which lymph node metastasis is a major determinant of outcome. The pathway deregulation resulting from a large number of somatic genetic alterations in the development of the tumor, plays an important role in lymphatic metastasis process. To detect the deregulated pathways to lymphatic metastasis in OSCC, we performed pathway-oriented analysis using gene expression profile from 16 samples without lymphatic metastasis and 27 samples with lymphatic metastasis. We identified seven significantly (p < 0.05) deregulated pathways: the erythropoietin (EPO) Signaling Pathway, Signaling Pathway from G-Protein Families, Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, the Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) signaling pathway, Ribosome, Colorectal cancer, B cell receptor signaling pathway. The biological relevance of these pathways to OSCC is the focus of ongoing studies, as well as complex interactions and crosstalk between them. These pathways might provide additional clues about factors that regulate the course for OSCC patients and might offer new opportunities for therapeutic intervention.