Chromosomal copy number aberrations in colorectal metastases resemble their primary counterparts and differences are typically non-recurrent

PLoS One. 2014 Feb 5;9(2):e86833. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0086833. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

The metastatic process is complex and remains a major obstacle in the management of colorectal cancer. To gain a better insight into the pathology of metastasis, we investigated genomic aberrations in a large cohort of matched colorectal cancer primaries and distant metastases from various sites by high resolution array comparative genomic hybridization. In total, 62 primary colorectal cancers, and 68 matched metastases (22 liver, 11 lung, 12 ovary, 12 omentum, and 11 distant lymph nodes) were analyzed. Public datasets were used for validation purposes. Metastases resemble their matched primary tumors in the majority of the patients. This validates the significant overlap in chromosomal aberrations between primary tumors and corresponding metastases observed previously. We observed 15 statistically significant different regions between the primary tumors and their matched metastases, of which only one recurrent event in metastases was observed. We conclude, based on detailed analysis and large independent datasets, that chromosomal copy number aberrations in colorectal metastases resemble their primary counterparts, and differences are typically non-recurrent.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study
  • Randomized Controlled Trial
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Chromosome Aberrations*
  • Chromosomes, Human / genetics*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / genetics*
  • Colorectal Neoplasms / pathology
  • DNA Copy Number Variations*
  • Databases, Genetic*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasm Metastasis

Grants and funding

This research was financially supported by the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF-2007-3832), the ‘Stichting Sacha Swarttouw-Hijmans’, the Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group and performed within the framework of Center for Translational Molecular Medicine; DeCoDe project, Contract grant number: 03O-101. These funders had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.