Prognostic prediction in neuroblastomas: clinical significance of combined analysis for Ha-ras p21 expression and N-myc gene amplification.
Ha-ras p21 expression and N-myc gene amplification were examined in 69 neuroblastomas and their clinical significance was analyzed retrospectively. Thirty-nine (89%) of forty-four patients who survived for more than 2 years after diagnosis showed high Ha-ras p21 expression, whereas 19 (76%) of 25 patients who died of progressive disease showed low Ha-ras p21 expression in their tumors. Although all 14 patients whose tumors exhibited N-myc gene amplification died of the disease, 11 other patients (56%) who died did not exhibit N-myc gene amplification. When we considered both low Ha-ras p21 expression and N-myc gene amplification as risk factors, 23 (92%) of the 25 patients who died had at least one of the two and thus could have been predicted to be high-risk patients at diagnosis. The combined analysis of the two factors should provide more accurate information pertinent to patient care.
Tanaka
T
T
Department of Pediatrics, National Kure Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
Seeger
R C
RC
Tanabe
M
M
Hiyama
E
E
Shimoda
H
H
Ida
N
N
D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005784:Gene Amplification; D016259:Genes, myc; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000235:genetics*; D011379:Prognosis; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / Q000032:analysis*
C501009:HRAS protein, human; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)