Potential Biomarker for Oral Cancers Identified

Researchers using a high-resolution gene mapping technique to investigate chromosomal band 11q13, present in extra copies in a large percentage of oral cancers, have identified a gene (tumor amplified and overexpressed sequence 1, or TAOS1) that may prove to be a useful biomarker in the diagnosis and prognosis of oral cancers. Their study was published August 9, 2002, in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"Gene amplification is a common and critically important genetic defect in cancer cells, and chromosomal band 11q13 appears to be one of the most frequently amplified chromosomal regions,” said corresponding author Dr. Susanne M. Gollin, associate professor in the department of human genetics, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (PA, USA; www.pitt.edu). "Our work represents the first time the structure of the 11q13 amplicon has been mapped so finely, enabling us to identify a new gene in this segment that is both amplified and overexpressed in oral cancer cells.”

Investigators examined 30 oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines developed from tumors removed from patients who had not been treated previously. A technique called quantitative microsatellite analysis (QuMA) was used to map the 11q13 amplicon, which houses about 10 genes. Of the cell lines examined, 16 (63%) had amplification of band 11q13. Band 11q13 was found to contain the previously uncharacterized gene, TAOS1, which was both amplified and overexpressed in oral cancer cells. The data suggest that TAOS1 may be an amplification-dependent candidate oncogene with a role in the development and/or progression of human tumors, including oral squamous cell carcinomas.

"Due to its versatility, accuracy, and ability to produce high-resolution copy number measurements across the genome, QuMA should be helpful in examining this and other amplified genomic regions in a wide variety of tumors,” said senior author Dr. Tony E. Godfrey, assistant professor of surgery and human genetics at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.



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