| Summary: | The loss of genetic material from a specific chromosome region in tumors suggests the presence of tumor-suppressor genes. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) or allelic imbalance (Al) on the long arm of chromosome 16 is a known event in sporadic breast cancer. To locate the commonly deleted regions, and therefore (a) candidate tumor-suppressor gene(s), a deletion map of chromosome 16 was made, using 10 microsatellite markers on 150 sporadic breast tumors. The 3 smallest regions of overlap (SRO) were detected on the long arm of chromosome 16. Allelic imbalance was observed with at least one marker in 67% of the tumors. One marker, D16S421, at the 16q22-23 region, showed the highest allelic imbalance, 58%. Tumors with and without Al on I bq were tested for correlation with clinico-pathological features of the tumors such as estrogen- and progesterone-receptor content (ER and PgR), age at diagnosis, tumor size, node status, histological type, S-phase fraction, Al on chromosome 3p, and ploidy. A correlation was found between Al on 16q and high PgR content, also low S-phase fraction (99% confidence limits). A comparison of tumors with and without Al at the D16S421 marker locus revealed a slight correlation with high PgR content. The survival data showed no difference between patients with Al on 16q and those with a normal allele pattern on the long arm of chromosome 16. The Nordic primer bank was supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers. This work was supported by the Nordic Cancer Union, the Icelandic Cancer Society, the University of Iceland Research Fund, the Science Fund of Iceland, the Science Fund of the University Hospital of Iceland and the Memorial Fund of Bergthora Magnusdottir and Jakob B. Bjarnason.
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