Gene expression profiling of HNSCC cells derived from primary and matched metastatic tumors

To look at genes/pathways differentially expressed in metastatic and primary tumor cells we performed global gene expression profiling of the 3 sets of HNSCC lines derived from primary tumors and matched metastatic sites. Illumina HT-12 v4 BeadChip arrays were used. The data suggest that HNSCC lines derived from metastatic sites exhibit phenotypes distinct from those found in cells derived from the corresponding primary tumors. Metastatic cell lines upregulated several pathways involved in stem cell self-renewal, invasion and migration, which are well known characteristics of metastatic progression. We conclude that the cell lines derived from primary patient tumors and matched metastatic sites represent a reliable model to study HNSCC metastasis. Global gene expression profiling of the 3 sets of HNSCC lines derived from primary tumors and matched metastatic sites Cell lines were received from Dr. R. Grenman from Turku University Hospital (Finland)