Gene Expression Profiles in Stage II and III Colon Cancer. Application of a 128-gene signature

Purpose: A 128-gene signature has been proposed to predict poor outcomes in patients with stage II and III colorectal cancer. In the present study we aimed to validate this previously published 128-gene signature on external and independent data from patients with stage II and III colon cancer. Tumor samples were obtained from 37 patients with stage II and III colon cancer, who underwent colon resection at the Department of Surgery, Roskilde Hospital, Denmark and the Department of Surgery, Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark between 2001 and 2008. Purified tumor RNA was reverse-transcribed, labelled and hybridized to Affymetrix Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 GeneChip Array (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, USA) according to the manufacturers instructions and scanned at the RH Microarray Center, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen.