Homozygous deletion but not mutation of exons 5 and 8 of the fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene is associated with features of differentiated thyroid carcinoma.

The fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene encompasses the most common human fragile site, FRA3B at 3p14.2, a region that is involved in homozygous deletions in a variety of human tumors. FHIT is considered to be a tumor suppressor gene that is frequently inactivated in various types of cancer. To study the role of the FHIT gene in thyroid tumorigenesis, we looked for homozygous deletions or mutations of exons 5 and 8 of the FHIT gene in 65 cases of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) and their matched non-cancerous epithelium (NCE), using exon-specific PCR amplification and PCR single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) techniques. In DTC, the incidence of homozygous deletion of exon 5 was 30.8% (20/65), and it was associated with tumor metastasis to lymph nodes (p <0.05). The incidence of homozygous deletion of exon 8 was 29.2% (19/65), and it was associated with the tumor pathological grade, TNM stage, and lymph node metastasis (p <0.05). There was strong correlation between homozygous deletions of exon 5 and exon 8 (p <0.01). No point mutations were observed in either exon 5 or exon 8. These findings suggest that: (a) exons 5 and 8 of FHIT are key target regions of deletion, (b) homozygous deletions of exon 5 and exon 8 may be good biomarkers for the biological behavior of DTC, and (c) point mutation of these exons may not be involved in the inactivation of the FHIT gene in DTC.