Well-differentiated mucinous carcinoma of the ovary and a coexisting Brenner tumor both exhibit amplification of 12q14-21 by comparative genomic hybridization

Although the coexistence of mucinous ovarian neoplasms and Brenner tumors i s well established, the histogenesis and developmental relationship between the two remain unknown. We used comparative genomic hybridization to analy ze two such tumors occurring simultaneously, one in each ovary, in a patien t. Amplification of 12q14-21 sequences was found in both tumors; in additio n, both tumors also had other, different changes, four identified in the Br enner tumor and six in the mucinous carcinoma. The occurrence of the same g enetic alteration in both tumors in this woman suggests that the mucinous c arcinoma and Brenner tumor may be clonally related, i.e., one arose from th e other by means of metastatic spreading of transformed cells from one ovar y to the other. An alternative explanation is that some unknown, putative t umorigenic agent induced similar and synchronous pathogenetic changes in th e epithelium of both ovaries. The phenotypic differences between the tumors are presumably attributable to the other unique genetic abnormalities iden tified in both tumor types. (C) 1999 Academic Press.