Oncogenes and a specific chromosomal abnormality associated with small-cell lung cancers.

Studies on oncogenes and a specific chromosomal abnormality involved in small-cell lung cancers are reviewed. Amplification and/or expression of one of the three myc family oncogenes (c-myc, N-myc, L-myc) were found in 21 of 31 small-cell lung cancers. However, oncogenes were not detected in DNAs of small-cell lung cancers by the NIH3T3 transfection assay. In addition, a specific deletion on the short arm of chromosome number 3 was often associated with small-cell lung cancers. These characteristics are quite different from those of non-small-cell lung cancers.