A locus that influences susceptibility to 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon tumors maps to the distal end of mouse chromosome 3

While inheritance of mutated alleles of highly penetrant tumor suppressor g enes such as retinoblastoma or p53 predisposes individuals to a greatly inc reased risk of developing cancer, epidemiological data indicate that the ma jority of sporadic tumors in humans result from interactions of environment al and host genetic factors. The host genetic factors are poorly penetrant tumor susceptibility genes that determine the likelihood that a cancer will arise from carcinogen exposure. The majority of colon tumors in humans are sporadic in nature. 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon tumors in mi ce provide a useful animal model to identify genes that influence susceptib ility to carcinogen-induced colon tumors in humans. A genome-wide scan of g enetic crosses of relatively sensitive C57BL/6J with relatively resistant C BA mice treated with DMH revealed a linkage of DMH susceptibility with the distal end of mouse chromosome 3, suggesting that one or more tumor suscept ibility genes may map to this region. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.