Identification of candidate biomarkers for early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objectives: Early detection of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is critical, because of its rapid growth, aggressive infiltration, frequent lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis. However, clinically valuable tools and biomarkers from systemic study for early diagnosis of OSCC have not been established yet. The purpose of this study was to identify candidate biomarkers for OSCC for early diagnosis with genetic and bioinformatical verification.

Materials and Methods: Tumor and normal tissues from patients with OSCC were used for microarray analysis. Differentially expressed genes, identified using permutation, local pooled error (LPE), and t-tests and significance analysis of microarrays (SAM) were investigated with ontological analysis and selected as candidate genetic markers. These genes were validated via quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).

Results: Two groups corresponding with tissue identity were evident, implying that their differentially expressed genes represented the biological differences between tissues. Fifteen genes were identified using Student?s t-test (p<0.05) and SAM. Based on gene expression, these 15 genes were distinguished in OSCC samples. Genetic analysis of functional networks and ontologies, validated by qRT-PCR of tissue samples, identified four genes, ADAM15, CDC7, IL12RB2 and TNFRSF8, demonstrating favorable concordance with microarray data.

Conclusion: ADAM15, CDC7, IL12RB2 and TNFRSF8 can be candidate biomarkers for the diagnosis of OSCC.