Detection of micrometastases of squamous cell carcinoma tumor cells in muscle tissue

The aim of this study was to evaluate microarray technology in the detection of micrometastases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in muscle tissue. Three hundred SCCVII tumor cells were injected intramuscularly into the right flank of ten C3H/Km mice. One week later, the animals were euthanized and the muscle tissue was taken out. Histology (H&E staining), microarray and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis (RT-PCR) of the tissue was performed. Histology showed a few tumor cells between the muscle fibers. Microarray technology showed the different gene expression pattern of the muscle tissue with micrometastases in comparison to normal muscle tissue. Only genes with a fold change difference of 10 or greater were considered. Gene expression analysis revealed changes in the expression levels of 91 genes of micrometastases in muscle tissue. RT-PCR confirmed gene up-regulation. Significant differences in gene expression between micrometastases in muscle tissue and pure muscle tissue were found. The genes found to be up-regulated could be used to detect micrometastases in muscle tissue.