Microarray Analysis of Radioresistance-associated Genes in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Objective To identify the novel radioresistance-associated genes in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and build a foundation for the individualized radiotherapy.

Methods Two groups of ESCC patients were selected: radiosensitive group (S) and radioresistant group (R). Copy number variation(CNV) profiles of the selected ESCC tissues were screened using genechip microarray to obtain significant symbolic genes. Furthermore, qPCR analysis was used to confirm the results of the microarray.

Results Microarray assay results showed that the significant differences of CNVs occurred in chromosomes 3, 4, 8, 11 and 17, respectively. The symbolic genes were ROBO1 (CN Loss), NSD2 (CN Loss), CSMD3 (CN Gain), CADM1 (CN Loss) and NF1(LOH). Further, qPCR results demonstrated the radioresistant genes were NSD2 and CADM1 which were related to DNA damage repair and cell adhesion, respectively.

Conclusion The application of genechip microarray technique in CNV profiles screening is a powerful strategy to identify novel radioresistance-associated biomarkers of ESCC. NSD2 and CADM1 may be the radioresistance-associated candidate genes in ESCC.