Basic Science Review Jeffrey N. Myers, MD, PhD, Section Editor GENE EXPRESSION PROFILING IN HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA: CLINICAL PERSPECTIVES Benjamin Lallemant, MD, PhD, 1,2,3,4 Alexandre Evrard, MD, PhD, 2,3,4,5 Guillaume Chambon, MD, 1 Omar Sabra, MD, 1 Sophie Kacha, MD, 1,2,3,4 Jean-Gabriel Lallemant, MD, 1 Serge Lumbroso, MD, PhD, 2,3,4,5 Jean-Paul Brouillet, MD, PhD 2,3,4,5 1 Service d’ORL et Chirurgie maxillo-faciale, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nı ˆmes, Place du Pr. Robert DEBRE, 30029 Nı ˆmes CEDEX 9 France. E-mail: benjamin.lallemant@chu-nimes.fr 2 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unite ´ Mixte de Recherche 5203, Institut de Ge ´nomique Fonctionnelle, Montpellier F-34094, France 3 Institut National de la Sante ´ et de la Recherche Me ´dicale, U661 Montpellier F-34094, France 4 Universite ´ Montpellier 1, Montpellier F-34094, France 5 Laboratoire de Biochimie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nı ˆmes, Place du Pr. Robert DEBRE, 30029 Nı ˆmes CEDEX 9 France Accepted 21 April 2010 Published online 14 October 2010 in in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI: 10.1002/hed.21491 Abstract: Background. To date, more than 60 gene expression profiling (GEP) studies have been published in the field of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with variable objectives, methods, and results. Methods. The purpose of this study was to present a state- of-the-art review of GEP in HNSCC focusing on the current advances and perspectives for clinical applications. Results. Gene expression signatures have been developed to identify screening and diagnostic molecular markers, to improve tumor staging (cervical lymph node and distant metasta- sis prediction), to differentiate lung metastasis of HNSCC from pri- mary lung squamous cell carcinoma, to predict tumor response to chemoradiotherapy, and to provide outcome predictors. Conclusion. Some transcriptional signatures that could improve HNSCC management have been identified, but further analyses are required to properly validate and to precisely eval- uate their clinical relevance. After an exploratory phase, the completion of large scale projects with stringent methodology is now necessary to transfer GEP from bench to bedside. V V C 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 32: 1712–1719, 2010 Keywords: gene expression profiling; HNSCC; transcriptome; biomarkers; microarray Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the fifth most frequent cancer world- wide. 1 Its prognosis is globally poor, and curative treatment implies heavy cosmetic and functional consequences. The development of new tools for the management of this disease is, therefore, urgent. In response to this need, gene expression profiling (GEP) is a biological approach that has been extensively used with promising results in cancer research. With GEP, it is possible to observe and quantify gene expression deregulation in Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. Correspondence to: B. Lallemant V V C 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1712 HNSCC Gene Expression Profiling HEAD & NECK—DOI 10.1002/hed December 2010