Gene expresssion profiles of cancer of the appendix

Appendiceal cancer patients treated with cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) often demonstrate an unpredictable variability in survival outcomes. Biomarkers predictive of CRS/HIPEC efficacy could better guide treatment decisions. In this study we hypothesized that variation in the transcriptional programming of appendiceal tumors might distinguish molecular subtypes with differential outcomes after CRS/HIPEC. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential of a prognostic gene signature to discriminate patients with favorable and unfavorable outcomes in a “discovery” set of patient (the original tumor series (n=24)), and confirm its prognostic value in a second “validation” series (the validation cohort (n=39)). Total RNA isolated from 24 appendiceal tumors (the original tumor series) and 39 appendiceal tumors (the valdiation series) were profiled on Affymetrix U133A GeneChips and Affymetrix U219 GeneAtlas Array Strips, respectively.