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Jason S. Isenberg '08

Molecular Characterization of Pre-malignant and Malignant Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Potential Clinical Implications

Head and neck cancer is the 5 th -6 th most common malignancy in the United States, affecting approximately 40,000 patients per year and has one of the lowest 5-year survival rates. Laryngeal carcinomas account for 25% of these neoplasms. Approximately 90-95% of these malignancies are squamous cell carcinomas (SCCa). Leukoplakia and erythroplakia are clinically pre-malignant conditions associated with an increased risk of development of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCCa). Many studies have identified the impact of genetic alterations on malignant transformation in both animal and human models. Changes in ploidy and genomic expression have been observed with the associated molecular and biochemical consequences on malignant transformation. cDNA microarray analysis permits the evaluation of a multitude of alterations in genomic expression profiles among clinically divergent samples. In head and neck SCCa, differences in expression profiles between non-malignant and malignant tissues and site of lesion have been reported. Interestingly, a correlation between expression pattern and predictability of nodal metastatic disease has also been demonstrated. While these studies appear to provide information regarding variance in expression between malignant and non-malignant tissue, there are no studies that follow the disease process over time and therefore predict the sequence of alteration. Additionally, there are no studies comparing a pre-malignant condition, such as leukoplakia or erythroplakia, to malignant tissue.

Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the difference in genomic expression profile and ploidy between leukoplakia and erythroplakia and malignant tissue. Finally, the long-term changes in genomic expression profiles and ploidy that emerge from our pool of patients with pre-malignant lesions will be evaluated. Patients with the clinical diagnosis of laryngeal leukoplakia and/or erythroplakia will be enrolled in this study. The genomic expression profile and ploidy of those with pre-malignant lesions will be compared to site-matched malignancies and normal tissue (buccal mucosa) and followed over time for malignant conversion. Understanding the behavior of pre-malignant lesions on a molecular level may provide important information in determining the prognosis and guiding the treatment of patients with laryngeal premalignancy.

 


 

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Otolaryngology Surgery University of Wisconsin Department of Surgery
First published: 07/15/02 Last updated: 11/24/09 webmaster@surgery.wisc.edu
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