Microsatellite instability associated with primary head and neck cancers and secondary esophageal cancers.
BACKGROUND
It is common that patients with head and neck cancers have secondary malignant neoplasm of esophageal cancer.


METHODS
To know the genetic background of the development of these secondary cancers, we performed microsatellite assay at six loci and immunohistochemical analysis on head and neck cancers of eight patients with esophageal cancer and on those of 19 patients without esophageal cancer.


RESULTS
Replication error (RER) at more than two loci was observed in two (25%) of eight double cancer patients, whereas it was not observed in the patients without the secondary cancer. Immunohistochemically, overexpression of cyclin D1 was detected in two (25%) of eight double cancer cases and in two (11%) of 19 non-double cancer cases, respectively, the incidence showing a higher tendency in the former.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that microsatellite instability may be implicated in the development of head and neck double cancers and that RER (+) phenotype may serve as a biomarker to predict the development of secondary esophageal cancer in patients with head and neck cancer.
Kiriu
H
H
First Department of Pathology, Hiroshima University School of Medicine, Japan.
Yokozaki
H
H
Yasui
W
W
Ito
K
K
Tahara
E
E
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D056741:Cyclin D; D016213:Cyclins / Q000032:analysis; D000939:Epitopes / Q000032:analysis; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000032:analysis; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D010641:Phenotype; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000032:analysis; D012907:Smoking
D056741:Cyclin D; D016213:Cyclins; D000939:Epitopes; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; C105787:MART-1-Melan-A(27-35) epitope; C064740:epidermal growth factor receptor-neu receptor