GENETIC ALTERATIONS IN LOCALIZED PROSTATE-CANCER - IDENTIFICATION OF A COMMON REGION OF DELETION ON CHROMOSOME ARM 18Q

Accumulation of mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes tran sforms a normal cell into a malignant cell by allowing it to escape fr om normal control of growth. In prostate tumorigenesis, the current mo del envisages specific mutations of the TP53 tumor suppressor gene and loss of loci, detected by loss of heterozygosity (LOH), on chromosome arms 8p, 10q, 16q, and 18q. In order to determine if alterations freq uently found in other adenocarcinomas (breast, ovarian, gastric, color ectal), including losses of genetic material from chromosome arms 1p, 3p, 7q, 8p, 11p, 17p, 17q, and 18q, are also involved in prostate canc er, we examined 20 localized early-stage prostate tumors. We detected no mutations of the TP53 gene. Allelic losses were found from 7q (33%) , 8p (50%), 10q (20%), and 18q (33%). Furthermore, as the first step t oward isolating tumor suppressor genes on 18q, we used six polymorphic markers acid identified a small common deleted region between the chr omosome 18 centromere and the D18S19 locus. Genes Chromosom Cancer 11: 119-125 (1994). (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.