Abstract
<div>Abstract<p><b>Purpose:</b> Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is a lethal malignancy that can develop from the premalignant condition, Barrett's esophagus (BE). Currently, there are no validated simple methods to predict which patients will progress to EAC. A better understanding of the genetic mechanisms driving EAC tumorigenesis is needed to identify new therapeutic targets and develop biomarkers capable of identifying high-risk patients that would benefit from aggressive neoadjuvant therapy. We employed an integrative genomics approach to identify novel genes involved in EAC biology that may serve as useful clinical markers.</p><p><b>Experimental Design:</b> Whole genome tiling-path array comparative genomic hybridization was used to identify significant regions of copy number alteration in 20 EACs and 10 matching BE tissues. Copy number and gene expression data were integrated to identify candidate oncogenes within regions of amplification and multiple additional sample cohorts were assessed to validate candidate genes.</p><p><b>Results:</b> We identified <i>RFC3</i> as a novel, candidate oncogene activated by amplification in approximately 25% of EAC samples. <i>RFC3</i> was also amplified in BE from a patient whose EAC harbored amplification and was differentially expressed between nonmalignant and EAC tissues. Copy number gains were detected in other cancer types and <i>RFC3</i> knockdown inhibited proliferation and anchorage-independent growth of cancer cells with increased copy number but had little effect on those without. Moreover, high <i>RFC3</i> expression was associated with poor patient outcome in multiple cancer types.</p><p><b>Conclusions:</b><i>RFC3</i> is a candidate oncogene amplified in EAC. <i>RFC3</i> DNA amplification is also prevalent in other epithelial cancer types and <i>RFC3</i> expression could serve as a prognostic marker. <i>Clin Cancer Res; 18(7); 1936–46. ©2012 AACR</i>.</p></div>
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