Heterogeneity between primary colon carcinoma and paired lymphatic and hepatic metastases

Heterogeneity is one of the recognized characteristics of human tumors, and occurs on multiple levels in a wide range of tumors. A number of studies have focused on the heterogeneity found in primary tumors and related metastases with the consideration that the evaluation of metastatic rather than primary sites could be of clinical relevance. Numerous studies have demonstrated particularly high rates of heterogeneity between primary colorectal tumors and their paired lymphatic and hepatic metastases. It has also been proposed that the heterogeneity between primary colon carcinomas and their paired lymphatic and hepatic metastases may result in different responses to anticancer therapies. The heterogeneity in primary colon carcinoma and corresponding metastases by genome‑wide gene expression analysis has not been extensively studied. In the present study, we investigated the differentially expressed genes between a primary colon carcinoma specimen (obtained from a 40-year-old female colon carcinoma patient with lymphatic and hepatic metastases) and its paired lymphatic and hepatic metastases by genome-wide gene expression analysis using GeneChip HGU133Plus2.0 expression arrays. Our results demonstrate that genome-wide gene expression varies between primary colon carcinoma and its paired lymphatic and hepatic metastases.