COAMPLIFICATION OF CYCLIN-D, HST-1 AND INT-2 GENES IS A GOOD BIOLOGICAL MARKER OF HIGH MALIGNANCY FOR HUMAN ESOPHAGEAL CARCINOMAS

In order to elucidate whether the amplification of cyclin D gene, hst- 1 and int-2 genes might be a good biological marker of high malignancy for human esophageal carcinomas, we analyzed the coamplification of t hese genes by slot blot analysis using DNAs from formalin fixed paraff in embedded tissues of 18 dysplastic lesions, 100 primary esophageal c arcinomas after surgical resection and 18 metastatic carcinomas of eso phagus taken at autopsy. No amplification was detected in dysplasia, w hile it was detected in 41 cases (41%) of primary tumors and 100% of m etastatic carcinomas, respectively. The amplification of these genes c orrelated to tumor staging and depth of tumor invasion. Moreover, the prognosis of patients with gene amplification was poorer than those wi thout gene amplification. Interestingly, distant metastasis and local recurrence, were often observed in cases with gene amplification. Thes e results indicate that amplification of cyclin D, hst-1 and int-2 gen es might play an important role for tumor progression and patient prog nosis for human esophageal carcinomas.