ALLELOTYPE OF ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA

An allelotype analysis of endometrial carcinoma was undertaken to iden tify chromosomal loci that are relevant to this tumor type. A total of 70 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers, distributed among all n onacrocentric chromosome arms, were examined for evidence of loss of h eterozygosity or allelic imbalance in DNA samples from matched normal and tumor tissues. An average of 21 informative tumor cases were obtai ned for each marker. Allelic deletions or imbalance were observed on 3 1 of 41 chromosome arms with no marker showing an allelic loss ratio o f greater than 33%. Those chromosome arms most frequently involved wer e 3p, 8p, 9p 14q, 16q, and 18q. There was a strong correlation between loss of heterozygosity on chromosome 14q and death from disease. Thes e data indicate that the molecular genetic character of endometrial ca rcinoma is complex and that a relatively large number of different chr omosomal loci are likely to play a role in the etiology and progressio n of this tumor type.