Comprehensive study of oral squamous cell carcinoma patients using blood samples and gene expression profiles

Abstract

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an aggressive malignancy which shows a variable degree of malignant behavior. To identify molecular signatures and establish a new diagnostic model for oral malignancies, we have identified marker genes representing pre-malignant and malignant phenotypes of oral mucosal lesions. The expression of marker genes was examined by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. Then, we created discriminatory predictor models using Fisher's linear discriminant analysis and leave-one-out cross validation. These models were applicable for the diagnoses of pre-malignant leukoplakias (LPs), and of invasion status for advanced OSCCs. The clinical course of various cancers is also influenced by host immune response. Our preliminary data using flow cytometric analysis demonstrate that the percentage of CD4+CD57+ T cells in peripheral blood lymphocyte was higher in the high grade OSCCs than that in the low grade ones. Furthermore, lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced ex-vivo production of Interferon (IFN)-γ from peripheral blood cells was highest in stage I patients and gradually decreased during the course of OSCC progression up to stage III. These decreased levels in the early stages were inversely correlated with tumor size. In this review, we propose that the usage of the immunological status of OSCC patients combined with the molecular signatures of tumor tissues could provide valuable indices for diagnosis of oral malignancies. © 2012 Kondoh N, et al.