title: [The possible role of loss of heterozygosity at APC, MCC and DCC genetic loci in esophageal carcinoma].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the alterations of APC, MCC and DCC genes in human esophageal carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 46 human esophageal cancer specimens were analyzed for the loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at APC, MCC and DCC genetic loci by means of polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence of LOH was 29.0%(9/31) at APC locus, 33.3%(8/24) at MCC locus, and 32.4%(12/37) at DCC locus, respectively. However, there was no statistically significant correlation between LOH at these three loci with such clinical parameters as pathological types, tumor size, invasiveness, and lymph-node metastasis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that LOH at APC, MCC and DCC loci in esophageal carcinoma is, to certain extent, a common genetic alteration which might play a role in esophageal carcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D017491:Genes, APC; D016163:Genes, DCC; D017431:Genes, MCC; D006801:Humans; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity