Multigene expression patterns predict metastatic behavior

Excerpt

Comparative gene expression analysis of clinically derived breast cancer specimens or established breast cancer cell lines is a promising approach for the identification of critical breast-cancer-related gene clusters. The aim of this study was to use array technology to identify patterns that could be predictive for a specific metastatic behavior (i.e. weakly or highly invasive), as measured by a number of in vitro assays. As proof-of-principle for future diagnostic scenarios, the authors proposed to test the predictive capacity of these "consensus expression profiles" in the context of other breast cancer cell lines whose metastatic behavior had not been systematically characterized in vitro. …