NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Genomic analysis of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck reveals a recurrent pattern of chromosomal aberrations associated with disease outcome.
In the October 1st issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a multicenter team led by Dr. Bhuvanesh Singh of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, describes experiments in which comparative genomic hybridization was used to study 82 head and neck squamous cell carcinomas from untreated patients. Only chromosomal aberrations that occurred in at least 5% of patients were analyzed.
Upon evaluation of 207 individual copy number abnormalities, 38 abnormalities were correlated with disease-specific survival on univariate analysis, the authors report.
After controlling for confounding effects, five of these aberrations “were significantly associated with outcome,” the researchers report, “including amplification at 11q13, gain of 12q24, and losses at 5q11, 6q14, and 21q11.”
The investigators note that the presence or absence of these prognostic abnormalities were not linked with any clinical or pathological features.
“From this analysis, it is clear the behavior of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is not universally predicted by tumor-node-metastasis system staging and that genomic predictors may augment predictive accuracy,” the researchers write.
They conclude: “The significance of each individual abnormality merits further consideration.”
Source: J Clin Oncol 2004; 22:3965-3972. [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Community Health Services: Data Collection: Diagnosis: Diagnostic Services: Environment and Public Health: Epidemiologic Methods: Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services: Genetic Screening: Head and Neck Neoplasms: Health: Health Occupations: Health Services: Health Services Administration: Health Surveys: Information Science: Mass Screening: Medicine: Investigative Techniques: Neoplasm Staging: Neoplasms: Neoplasms by Site: Population Characteristics: Preventive Health Services: Preventive Medicine: Public Health: Quality of Health Care: Specialties, Medical: Public Health Practice: Health Care Quality, Access, and Evaluation: Health Care Evaluation Mechanisms: Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures: Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment: Biological Sciences: Diseases: Health Care: Information ScienceCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
