Amplification of N-myc oncogene in human melanoma cells.
Tissue specimens from two melanoma patients and two patients with laryngeal carcinoma were studied for the expression of c-myc, N-myc and v-src oncogenes. Out of three different probes, only the N-myc probe one signalled amplification. While the two patients with laryngeal carcinoma showed only single copy of the N-myc gene in tumor cells, amplification of this gene was found in both two melanoma patients. The patients with 1 extra copy of the N-myc gene and its protein product had an early recurrence but is still alive, while the other melanoma patient with 4 extra copies of the gene, relapsed very early and died of melanoma within 7 months after diagnosis. Thus a higher amplification (4 extra copies) seems to correlate with very poor outcome of the disease.
Bauer
J
J
Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czechoslovakia.
Sokol
L
L
Stríbrná
J
J
Kremen
M
M
Krajsová
I
I
Hausner
P
P
Hejnar
P
P
D000328:Adult; D015342:DNA Probes; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005810:Multigene Family; D009857:Oncogenes; D011379:Prognosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D015342:DNA Probes; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm