Gene expression profile and the biology of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck

4263 Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas (HNSCC) are histologically similar, arising from epithelial cells within the mucosa lining of the upper aerodigestive tract. However, in spite of common therapeutic regimes, HNSCC from different subsites have clear differences in their biology, with diverse growth patterns, metastatic rates and prognosis. To address these differences at the molecular level, 121 HNSCC samples (7 from nasal cavity (NAS), 55 from oral cavity (ORA), 35 from oropharynx (ORO), 6 from hipopharynx (HIP), 18 from larynx (LAR)), treated with surgery or surgery followed by radiotherapy were assayed through microarray technology. Differentially expressed genes were defined by a non-parametric Wilcox test and correction by False Discovery Rate (5%). Statistically significant differences were found only among ORA and ORO, totalizing 6 genes with p