Allele losses on chromosome 17 in ovarian tumours

Analysis of tumours for localized loss of heterozygosity (LOH) or ‘allele imbalance’ is a well-recognized approach to the detection and mapping of tumour suppressor genes [1]. Studies in ovarian cancer have identified regional LOH on chromosomes 3p, 6q, lip, 17p and 17q [2–9]. Much of the work in this field has concentrated on chromosome 17, where high rates of allele imbalance have been recorded on both arms. Attention has also been drawn to this chromosome by the recent assignment of a breast-ovarian cancer gene to 17q2–2 through linkage analysis in affected families [10].