title: Microsatellite analyses of recurrence or second primary tumor in head and neck cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, distinguishing second primary tumours and recurrences may help to orient clinical decisions concerning therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A panel of eight microsatellite markers was used to analyse the loss of heterozygosity and genomic instability in a selected group of 32 patients experiencing a recurrence after having undergone surgery for oral or oropharyngeal carcinoma, in order to establish the clonality and origin of the recurrence.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-three patients showed genetic changes in primary and/or relapsing tumour DNA: clonally-related patterns were detected in six cases, whereas the different patterns between paired tumours indicated the presence of a second primary tumour in 17 cases. None of the markers was informative in nine cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our observations suggest that only a small proportion of patients have primary and secondary tumours developing from a single contiguous altered field (thus indicating a common clonal origin), whereas the metachronous tumour arises in unrelated fields in the majority of cases.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Hematology and Molecular Genetics, Department of Medical Sciences and University of Milan, Ospedale Maggiore IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ronchetti
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arisi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Neri
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pruneri
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Digiuni
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sambataro
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pignataro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D042822:Genomic Instability; D006801:Humans; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity; D008297:Male; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000235:genetics*; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000235:genetics*; D009959:Oropharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*