LOSS OF CHROMOSOME-17 LOCI IN PROSTATE-CANCER DETECTED BY POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION QUANTITATION OF ALLELIC MARKERS

Using a polymerase chain reaction/microsatellite marker system, we dem onstrated that 6 of 22 (27%) clinical stage B (early) primary prostate tumors showed loss of heterozygosity at one or more of five loci on c hromosome 17. The sensitivity of this study was increased by use of a Phosphorlmager and statistical analysis of replicate tumor-normal DNA pairs. Two patients showed tumor-specific interstitial loss at a locus in close proximity to the familial breast cancer gene BRCA1. These fi ndings suggest that genes on the proximal long arm of chromosome 17 pl ay a pivotal role in the early development of at least a subset of pro static tumors. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.