Researchers find way to diagnose cancer aggressiveness of the mouth -
oral cancer study in mice, the researchers found a way to predict the aggressiveness Similar tumors in people, a first step towards a diagnostic test that could guide treatment, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
"All patients with advanced head and neck get similar treatment," said Ravindra Uppaluri, MD, PhD, associate professor of otolaryngology. "We have patients who do well on combinations standard surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and patients who are not good. We are interested to know why. "
Reporting in Clinical Cancer Research , the investigators found a consistent pattern of gene expression associated with tumor spread in mice. Analysis of genetic data from human samples of oral cancer, they also found that genetic signature in people with aggressive metastatic tumors.
"We automatically assume this mouse model would be relevant to cancer of the human mouth," said Uppaluri, which performs head and neck surgery at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "But it turns out be very reflective of the disease in people. "
Rather than using genetic methods to induce tumors in mice, the research team applied repeatedly a known carcinogen, in the same way that humans develop oral cancer.
"patients often have a history of tobacco and alcohol, which cause the development of these tumors," said Uppaluri. "We felt that exposure mouse to a carcinogen would be most likely to produce the same kind of tumors. "
the researchers, including first author Michael D. Onken, PhD, research assistant professor of cell biology and physiology, showed that this exhibition has sometimes produced tumors in mice that did not spread, but sometimes led to aggressive metastatic tumors, similar to the variety of tumors observed in people. Uppaluri team then worked with Elaine Mardis, PhD, co-director of the Genomics Institute of the University of Washington, whether the mouse and human tumors were also genetically similar. They compared their mouse sequences with human data sets of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA).
"When we sequenced these tumors, we found that many genetic mutations present in the mouse tumors were also found in human head and neck," said Uppaluri.
further analysis identified a common signature in the expression of 0 genes that have been associated with more aggressive tumors, whether in mice or humans. the researchers confirmed this signature using data collected from 324 human patients. subsequently, using oral cancer samples from patients treated at the University of Washington, they have developed a proof of concept test from their signature that identified tumors aggressive with about 93 percent accuracy.
in collaboration with the Office of technology management at the University of Washington, Uppaluri has a patent pending on this technology and has recently received funding from the Fund Frontier Siteman cancer to develop a laboratory test that predicts an aggressive disease and would be readily available for all patients diagnosed with head and neck.
"These types of tests are available for other types of cancer, including breast cancer," he said. "They are genetic tests transformation that may alter the clinical management of patients, tailoring therapies for them. Our goal is to develop something for the head and neck. "
EmoticonEmoticon