Copy number aberrations of genes regulating normal thymus development in thymic epithelial tumors
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ABSTRACT: Thymic epithelial tumors are a group of neoplasms with heterogeneous histological features and clinical behavior. The identification of markers useful to predict patient prognosis and molecular targets for therapies is limited by a very little understanding of the biology of these neoplasms. We evaluated the copy number (CN) aberrations of genes involved in normal thymus development in thymic epithelial tumors, following the intriguing idea that the ectopic deregulation of genes relevant for proliferation and differentiation of embryonic cells, can contribute to tumor growth. Frequent CN losses of FOXC1 were observed in more aggressive tumors and correlated with a reduced protein expression; tumors negative for FOXC1 expression were associated with a shorter time to progression. In addition, FOXC1 showed tumor suppressor activity in in-vitro models. Our data indicate that FOXC1 loss can identify a group of thymic epithelial tumors with poor prognosis, possibly because its tumor suppressor properties.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE23540 | GEO | 2013/05/03
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA131831
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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