Differential expression assay of chromosome arm 8p genes identifies Frizzled-related (FRP1/FRZB) and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 1 (FGFR1) as candidate breast cancer genes

Deletions and amplifications are frequent alterations of the short arm of c hromosome 8 associated with various types of cancers, including breast canc ers. This indicates the likely presence of tumor suppressor genes and oncog enes, In the present study, we have used the expressed sequence tag (EST) m ap of 8p11-21 to assemble a set of available cDNAs representing genes from this region. DNA arrays were prepared for expression analysis and search fo r genes potentially involved in breast cancer, Underexpresion in tumoral br east cells (versus normal breast) was observed for 15 transcripts, Among th ese, the Frizzled-related gene FRP1/FRZB, was turned off in 78% of breast c arcinomas, suggesting that the lack of its product may be associated with m alignant transformation, Overexpression in tumoral breast cells was observe d for 13 genes. The FGFR1 gene, that encodes a tyrosine kinase receptor for members of the fibroblast growth factor family, was identified as a good c andidate for one amplification unit, Taken together, our results demonstrat e that such a strategy can rapidly identify genes with an altered pattern o f expression and provide candidate genes for malignancies.