Is There a Possible Association Between Psoriasis and Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma?
Posted: Wednesday, October 27, 2021
According to findings presented in Frontiers in Oncology, an analysis of microarray and RNA-sequencing revealed differentially expressed genes that could be used as potential biomarkers and therapeutic for patients with psoriasis and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. The interleukin 17 (IL-17) signaling pathway was identified as a common significant pathway for the differentially expressed genes in both diseases, and further investigation of the IL-17 pathway revealed significant genes in psoriasis that potentially could lead to cancer, according to Afreenish Amir, PhD, of the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, Pakistan, and colleagues.
“These significant genes are MAPKs (MAPK13 and MAPK14) and genes for AP-1 (FOSL1 and FOS),” the authors said. “These genes should be further investigated at [the] experimental level for validating their roles in the transfer of [the] psoriatic condition to cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.”
In this trial, the authors collected data from the European Bioinformatics Institute and conducted microarray analysis and RNA sequencing for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and psoriasis. Pathway analysis was also performed to analyze the disrupted pathways and their possible relation with the diseases.
The authors found that the microarray analysis of psoriasis revealed one common differentially expressed gene with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: s100a8. This is a protein-coding gene that functions in inflammatory and immune responses. The comparison of RNA-sequencing data sets for psoriasis and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma resulted in 16 and 26 common differentially expressed genes, respectively. A comparative analysis of all data sets of both diseases found 33 differentially expressed genes.
Disclosure: The authors reported no conflicts of interest.
