Sam Hawkins, Utah State University
Biological Engineering
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequently diagnosed cancers in women and men. It is often treatable if caught early. However, tumors may metastasize which can result in a poor prognosis. A better understanding of the tumorigenesis and evolution of metastatic tumors in CRC patients could lead to earlier diagnosis, pre-emptive screening, and a better outcome. Copy number analysis of primary tumor tissue has revealed genes associated with colon cancers, but a comparison between primary and metastatic tumors has never been done. Normal tissue, primary tumor tissue, and metastatic tumor tissue was collected from twentyfive individuals. Copy number alterations were determined by microarray data generated from Molecular Inversion Probe (MIP) technology (Affymetrix, Inc.) for copy number analysis using Nexus software (BioDiscovery, Inc.). Metastatic tumor samples show a greater rate of copy number alterations (CNAs) from the primary tumors and even more alterations from normal tissue samples. Certain regions of the metastatic genome show high rates of CNAs whereas the primary tumor genome does not. These areas are key regions for potential understanding into the molecular origins of metastatic tumors. Understanding specific regions and genes with CNAs in metastatic tumor samples may lead to further research in cancer genetics and possible target areas for pharmaceutical testing.