title: Amplification of protooncogenes in surgical specimens of human lung carcinomas.
abstract: The possible existence of amplification or rearrangement of protooncogenes was examined in more than 100 surgical specimens of human lung carcinoma. Protooncogenes were amplified in 28% of the carcinomas. About 90% of the amplified genes were of the myc, ras, or erbB family. Of the myc family genes, myc was amplified in 14 of 137 tumors and L-myc in four of 108 tumors, but N-myc was not amplified. A high frequency of amplification of myc was observed in squamous cell carcinomas (seven of 37) and of L-myc in small cell carcinomas (two of six). Of the ras family genes, K-ras-2 was amplified in six of the 137 tumors and N-ras in two of the 137 tumors, but no amplification of H-ras-1 was detected. Seven of the eight cases of amplified ras genes were in advanced pathological stages. Of the erbB family genes, erbB-1 (epidermal growth factor receptor) was amplified in 10 of 114 tumors and erbB-2 (HER-2/neu) in one of 51 tumors. Amplifications of the myc, ras, and erbB family genes might be one of the crucial DNA abnormalities involved in the development of human lung carcinomas.
authors.affiliation: Oncogene Division, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shimosato
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sekiya
mesh_terms: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D005784:Gene Amplification; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D011905:Genes, ras; D006579:Heterozygote; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016271:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myc; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases