CIMP-high colorectal tumors appear to have a distinct clinical, pathologic and molecular profile, including associations with female sex, proximal tumor location, poor differentiation, microsatellite instability (MSI) and BRAF mutation [ 17- 25].
In both of these models, the endocrine-resistant tumor cells might be characterized by an aggressive molecular profile, including expression of genes associated with epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and stem cell biology.
The molecular profile includes gene expression (microarray), genotype (SNP), exon expression, MicroRNA expression (microarray), copy number variation (CNV), DNA methylation, somatic mutation, gene expression (RNA-seq), MicroRNA-seq and protein expression.
This set of cell lines was filtered further based on the availability of genomic and molecular profiles, including gene expression, mutation and copy number profiles.
Tumour type heterogeneity, in term of pathology and molecular profiles including the frequency of TP53 mutations, may explain these results although this clearly needs further evaluation.
To identify additional lesions, we performed array CGH of the five tumors showing a molecular apocrine profile including the three Cowden tumors.
With respect to CRC-typical molecular alterations, the cell lines were characterized by an individual, only partially overlapping molecular profile that included oncogenic mutations of KRAS, BRAF (V600E), and PIK3CA as well as loss or inactivation of the tumor suppressor genes APC and TP53.
Complex issues include the mathematics around the sheer number of genes of potential interest in molecular profiling studies, including the number of interactions that can occur.
Recently, several molecular profiling studies, including our study, have revealed gene sets that can predict response to platinum-based chemotherapy in ovarian cancer [ 4- 6].
Advances in the specificity and sensitivity of molecular profiling platforms including expression analysis and comparative genomics with the additional incorporation of PLC databases and bioinformatics tools, we are approaching a new era for understanding the heterogeneity of HCC and ICC tumors.
The combined dataset profile included two known molecular markers of breast cancer: BCL2 and ESR1.
