Double minute chromosomes and homogeneously staining regions in tumors taken directly from patients versus in human tumor cell lines.

There is increasing evidence that copies of amplified oncogenes or drug-resistant genes located on extrachromosomal DNA (e.g. double minutes and/or episomes) can be eliminated from mammalian tumor cell lines by treatment of the cells with low concentrations of hydroxyurea. However, amplified oncogenes or drug-resistant genes located in an intrachromosomal site (such as in a homogeneously staining region (HSR)) cannot be eliminated from the cells. A question which arises is do primary human tumors have extrachromosomal DNA present often enough to make elimination of that extrachromosomal DNA a potentially important therapeutic strategy? To address that question we have reviewed published cytogenetic analyses of 200 tumors taken directly from patients to determine the percentage of primary human tumors which have amplified genes present on extrachromosomal DNA (present in the form of double minutes [DMs]) vs the percentage of tumors which have amplified genes located on an intrachromosomal site (in the form of HSRs). Of the 200 primary human tumors reviewed, 91% contained DMs only, 6.5% contained HSRs, and 2.5% contained both. Of interest, in a parallel review of 109 cell lines with cytogenetic and/or molecular evidence of gene amplification, 60.6% contained DMs, 26.6% contained HSRs, and 12.8% contained both. These data indicate that DMs are the predominant cytogenetic marker for gene amplification in patients, but are present less frequently in established cell lines. These findings indicate that ongoing efforts to eliminate amplified drug-resistant genes or oncogenes contained on DMs (or precursors of DMs) from tumor cells may be relevant for in vivo situations.