Genomic copy number variation in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most common cancer world wide, and survival rates range from 40-80% depending on subsite. As novel treatment strategies are investigated, comprehensively characterized cell lines representative of the diversity seen in patients will be crucial to correlating genetic and phenotypic features with therapeutic response. The University of Michigan has generated a large panel of HNSCC cell lines that are utilized in laboratories worldwide. Here, we performed Oncoscan array analysis for 33 of these cell lines along with 2 HNSCC lines derived elsewhere to inform selection of model systems for future studies. Copy number analysis of Affymetrix OncoScan arrays was performed on 35 HNSCC cell lines.