Cancers, Vol. 12, Pages 1718: Index of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Is Superior to the Epithelial –Mesenchymal Transition Score in Prognosis Prediction

Cancers, Vol. 12, Pages 1718: Index of Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts Is Superior to the Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition Score in Prognosis Prediction Cancers doi: 10.3390/cancers12071718 Authors: Ko Lai Hsu Wang Su Chen Tsai Wu Hsiao Chang Wu Robinson Lin Lin In many solid tumors, tissue of the mesenchymal subtype is frequently associated with epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), strong stromal infiltration, and poor prognosis. Emerging evidence from tumor ecosystem studies has revealed that the two main components of tumor stroma, namely, infiltrated immune cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), also express certain typical EMT genes and are not distinguishable from intrinsic tumor EMT, where bulk tissue is concerned. Transcriptomic analysis of xenograft tissues provides a unique advantage in dissecting genes of tumor (human) or stroma (murine) origins. By transcriptomic analysis of xenograft tissues, we found that oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tumor cells with a high EMT score, the computed mesenchymal likelihood based on the expression signature of canonical EMT markers, are associated with elevated stromal contents featured with fibronectin 1 (Fn1) and transforming growth factor-β (Tgfβ) axis gene expression. In conjugation with meta-analysis of these genes in clinical OSCC datasets, we further extracted a four-gene index, comprising FN1, TGFB2, TGFBR2, and TGFBI...
Source: Cancers - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research