High frequency of allelic imbalance at regions of chromosome arm 8p in ovarian carcinoma

Abstract Progressive genetic changes such as the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes (TSG) are thought to play an important role in the initiation and progression of ovarian cancer. Frequent nonrandom allelic imbalance (AI) at 8p11∼p21 and 8p22∼pter suggests the existence of TSGs that may be involved in the carcinogenesis of several human malignancies. We investigated 70 ovarian tumors with 11 highly polymorphic markers spanning 8p12∼p21 and 8p22∼pter to produce an AI map of 8p in epithelial ovarian cancer. Allelic imbalance was demonstrated in 54 tumors (77%), most frequently occurring at D8S136 (54%) and at D8S1992 (55%). Poorly differentiated and advanced stage cancers were more often affected by AI (G1+G2 vs. G3; 20% vs. 66%; stage I+II vs. III+IV, 36% vs. 54%, P