Suzuki H, Abo S, Kitamura M, Hashimoto M, Izumi K, Terada K, Sugiyama T
Second Department of Surgery, Akita University School of Medicine, Japan.
Cancer Invest. 1997;15(5):411-5. doi: 10.3109/07357909709047579.
Gene amplification is a relatively frequent event in human malignant tumors and is believed to play an important role in tumor progression. The int-2 and erbB genes are amplified more frequently than any other genes in human esophageal cancer. In order to investigate the correlation between these two proto-oncogenes and the clinical behavior of esophageal cancer, we examined DNA amplification of int-2 and erbB and analyzed their relationship to clinicopathological variables. Genomic DNA was extracted from 21 esophageal squamous carcinomas and normal esophageal mucosa, as well as from 4 metastatic tumors. We used Southern blot analysis for detection of gene amplification. Amplification of int-2 was observed in 13 of 21 cases (62%) and in all the metastatic tumors (4/4; 100%). We found a significant correlation between amplification of int-2 and the length of the primary lesion. Amplification of erbB was detected in 3 of 18 patients (17%). All patients who showed amplification of erbB also demonstrated amplification of int-2. These results suggest that amplification of int-2 or neighboring genes on 11q may participate in tumor progression and metastasis in patients with esophageal squamous cancer.
基因扩增在人类恶性肿瘤中是较为常见的事件，并且被认为在肿瘤进展过程中发挥重要作用。在人类食管癌中，int-2和erbB基因的扩增比其他任何基因都更为频繁。为了研究这两个原癌基因与食管癌临床行为之间的相关性，我们检测了int-2和erbB的DNA扩增情况，并分析了它们与临床病理变量之间的关系。从21例食管鳞状细胞癌、正常食管黏膜以及4例转移瘤中提取基因组DNA。我们采用Southern印迹分析法检测基因扩增。在21例病例中有13例（62%）观察到int-2扩增，并且在所有转移瘤中均有int-2扩增（4/4；100%）。我们发现int-2扩增与原发灶长度之间存在显著相关性。在18例患者中有3例（17%）检测到erbB扩增。所有显示erbB扩增的患者也都有int-2扩增。这些结果表明，int-2或11q上的邻近基因的扩增可能参与食管鳞状细胞癌患者的肿瘤进展和转移。
