Analysis of sncRNA expression in 22 primary cSCC

Analysis of sncRNA expression in 22 primary cSCC (10 from cSCCs that had evolved to histologically confirmed metastases, or MSCC, and 12 from a cSCC control group who had not developed any metastasis in a 5-year follow-up period). Unsupervised hierarchical clustering of the most variably expressed sncRNAs stratified the tumors into two groups, one formed mainly by NMSCC and the other formed exclusively by metastasizing cSCC, the latter displaying an overall sncRNA downregulation. Supervised clustering of MSCC vs. NMSCC identified the differential expression of 330 sncRNAs, most of them downregulated in the metastasizing group (248 sncRNAs; 75%). Functional and sequence-based classification of the probes in the array revealed alterations in the proportion of the snoRNAs represented in MSCCs when compared to their expression in NMSCCs. 22 samples were analysed (CTRL=12,SCC=10)