Abstract

Molecular mechanisms contributing to initiation and progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma are still poorly known. Numerous genetic alterations have been described, but molecular consequences of such alterations in most cases remain unclear. Here, we performed an integrated high-resolution microarray analysis of gene copy number and expression in 20 laryngeal cancer cell lines and primary tumors. Our aim was to identify genetic alterations that play a key role in disease pathogenesis and pinpoint genes whose expression is directly impacted by these events. Integration of DNA level data from array-based comparative genomic hybridization with RNA level information from oligonucleotide microarrays was achieved with custom-developed bioinformatic methods. High-level amplifications had a clear impact on gene expression. Across the genome, overexpression of 739 genes could be attributed to gene amplification events in cell lines, with 325 genes showing the same phenomenon in primary tumors including FADD and PPFIA1 at 11q13. The analysis of gene ontology and pathway distributions further pinpointed genes that may identify potential targets of therapeutic intervention. Our data highlight genes that may be critically important to laryngeal cancer progression and offer potential therapeutic targets.