Allelic loss of the retinoblastoma gene in primary human prostatic adenocarcinomas.
Inactivation of the retinoblastoma (Rb) gene has been implicated in the genesis and progression of a number of tumor types, including prostatic adenocarcinomas. We have analyzed a series of 46 surgically-resected human prostatic adenocarcinomas for allelic loss of the Rb gene with PCR amplification of a highly polymorphic region of the gene. 41 of 46 tumors (89%) were informative and 11 of these (27%) had lost one Rb allele. The relative frequency of this occurrence suggests that inactivation of the retinoblastoma gene may be an important event in prostate carcinogenesis.
James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland 21205.
J D
JD
Brooks
G S
GS
Bova
W B
WB
Isaacs
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics*; D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D017353:Gene Deletion; D016161:Genes, Retinoblastoma; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*