Expression of an ASCL2 related stem cell signature in colorectal cancer liver metastases with 11p15.5 gain

Background and aims: Liver metastases are the leading cause of death in colorectal cancer. To gain better insight into the biology of metastasis and possibly identify new therapeutic targets we systematically investigated liver-metastasis-specific molecular aberrations. Methods: Primary colorectal cancer (pCRC) and matched liver metastases (LM) from the same patients were analyzed by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridization in 21 pairs and gene expression profiling in 18 pairs. Publicly available databases were used to confirm findings in independent datasets. Results: Chromosome aberration patterns an…