Chapter 34 - Squamous Carcinomas of the Head and Neck: Novel Genomic Approaches

Abstract

This chapter describes recent developments of sensitive molecular techniques and approaches that are likely to identify altered gene products that cause the development and progression of squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC). These include the use of laser capture microdissection (LCM), driven primarily by the need to isolate pure cell population from their native tissue and the use of DNA array technology for the comprehensive molecular characterization of normal, precancerous, and malignant cells, which enable the analysis of expression patterns of thousands of genes simultaneously. The chapter describes the use of the LCM platform for the head and neck cancer genome anatomy project, whose primary goal is to systematically identify and catalogue known and novel genes expressed during HNSCC development, and subsequently has become the leading effort in gene discovery in squamous epithelium. It also describes the use of LCM for proteomics to identify those proteins that may characterize different stages of HNSCC development and could potentially predict patient outcomes. These revolutionary approaches are likely to have an unprecedented impact in cancer biology and provide exciting opportunities to unravel the mechanisms involved in squamous cell carcinogenesis.