Heterogeneity of Gene Expression in Murine Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development—The Same Tumor by Different Means

Transformation is a complex process, involving many changes in the cell. In this work, we investigated the transcriptional changes that arose during the development of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in mice. Using microarray analysis, we looked at gene expression during different stages in cancer progression in 31 mice. By analyzing tumor progression in each mouse separately, we were able to define the global changes that were common to all 31 mice, as well as significant changes that occurred in fewer individuals. We found that different genes can contribute to the tumorigenic process in different mice, and that there are many ways to acquire the malignant properties defined by Hanahan and Weinberg as “hallmarks of cancer”. Eventually, however, all these changes lead to a very similar cancerous phenotype. The finding that gene expression is strongly heterogeneous in tumors that were induced by a standardized protocol in closely related mice underscores the need for molecular characterization of human tumors and personalized therapy.