Patterns of loss of heterozygosity at loci from chromosome arm 13q suggests a possible involvement of BRCA2 in sporadic breast tumors.

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at loci from chromosome 13 is frequently observed in breast cancer. Chromosome 13 contains at least two cancer genes, the well-characterized RB1 gene located at 13q14 and the breast cancer-susceptibility gene, BRCA2, recently localized to 13q12. To investigate the possible involvement of BRCA2 in sporadic breast tumors, we looked at LOH at eight microsatellite (CA)n markers distributed along chromosome 13 in a panel of 59 primary breast carcinomas. We show that some LOH does not include the RB1 locus and is associated with the BRCA2 gene region.