title: Assessment of chromosome 3 copy number in ocular melanoma using fluorescence in situ hybridization.
abstract: Recent reports have indicated that monosomy 3 is a marker of poor prognosis in uveal melanoma. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed on fresh touch preparations from 17 uveal, and 5 conjunctival melanomas, using the chromosome 3 centromeric probe, D3Z1. Of the 17 uveal melanomas, all of which originated in the choroid, two cases revealed a monosomy of chromosome 3. One of the conjunctival melanomas contained a major clone that was trisomic for chromosome 3, and another conjunctival melanoma contained a tetrasomic population. FISH, using the alpha-satellite probe for chromosome 3 on uveal melanoma imprints, allows one to predict which patients are potentially at a higher risk of relapse. Multiplication, rather than deletion, of copies of chromosome 3 in conjunctival melanomas may be a nonspecific aberration, perhaps indicative of polyploidy, a characteristic of tumor progression.
authors.affiliation: Research Foundation, Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Felix
authors.forename: E V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fenton
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kennedy
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D002893:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3; D003230:Conjunctival Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged