Gene expression profiling after cetuximab treatment of HNSCC tumors

To investigate if cetuximab induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and activation of cancer associated fibroblast (CAF) in the tumors of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Cetuximab was administered for two weeks prior to surgery to 20 treatment-naïve patients (CHIRON study). Five untreated patients were included as controls. Tumor biopsies were performed at baseline and before surgery. Gene expression profiles and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis of the pre-and post-treatment biopsies were compared. To further investigate EMT and CAF, correlations between previously described EMT and CAF markers and our microarray data set were calculated. 19 samples before cetuximab, 15 samples after treatment.