LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY OF THE SHORT ARM OF CHROMOSOME-3 AND CHROMOSOME-9 IN ORAL-CANCER

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosomes 3p and 9p has been documen ted in a variety of malignancies, which suggests the presence of tumor suppressor gene loci on these chromosomes. We have studied 77 oral ca rcinomas for LOH using 16 microsatellite markers distributed over 5 hu man chromosomes. Fifty-five (710/0) of these tumors showed LOH at one or more loci. A significant proportion of LOH at the informative tumor s was observed at chromosomes 3p and 9p: 58% and 48%, respectively. A majority of the tumors showed lesser at multiple loci on chromosomes 3 p or 9p or on both. Our results suggest that tumor suppressor genes lo cated on the short arms of chromosomes 3 and 9 may be involved in the pathogenesis of oral carcinoma. These regions of deletion observed in oral cancers overlap those reported in other neoplasms. However, we di d not find any evidence of these changes in tumor margins with early p athological changes. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.