title: Detection of tumor-derived DNA in cerebrospinal fluid.
abstract: The sensitivity of PCR-based methods for the detection of DNA offers opportunities for tumor diagnosis from the small amounts of tumor-derived DNA released into body fluids. We report the detection of tumor DNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of two patients with intracranial neoplasms. One patient had a metastatic breast carcinoma which contained amplified HER-2/neu genes, and amplified HER-2/neu gene sequences were present in her CSF. The other patient had a glioblastoma which contained amplified epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) genes, and amplified EGFR gene sequences were present in her CSF. This report demonstrates that CSF sometimes contains tumor-derived DNA and suggests that PCR examination of CSF DNA may be diagnostically useful.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Rhodes
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Honsinger
authors.forename: G D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Sorenson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000556:secondary; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000473:pathology; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000556:secondary; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*; D006801:Humans; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases