BACKGROUNDThis study was designed to investigate the hot spots of microsatellite loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on 9p13-23 in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma and to find out the correlation between the incidence of microsatellite LOH and the clinicopathological parameters.

METHODSTumor tissues were obtained from paraffin embedded sections with microdissection. Genomic DNA was extracted from tumor tissues and peripheral blood lymphocytes with the phenol-chloroform. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and denaturing gel electrophoresis were carried out in a set of 42 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of larynx and corresponding peripheral blood lymphocytes using 13 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers on 9p13-23. The correlation was analyzed between microsatellite LOH at the high frequency on 9p13-23 and clinicopathological parameters in the patients with squamous cell carcinoma of larynx.

RESULTSOf the 42 laryngeal cancers, 41 (97.6%) showed LOH in at least one of the microsatellite markers tested on 9p13-23. The most frequently deleted marker was D9S162 in 17 of the 19 (89.5%) informative samples. The marker D9S171, which is located on 9p21, had LOH detected in 12 of the 15 informative cases (80.0%). LOH at the D9S1748 marker (closest to the p16 gene locus) was detected in 18 of the 36 informative cases (50.0%). Allelic deletion mapping revealed two minimal regions of LOH encompassing markers D9S161-D9S171 on 9p21 and IFNA-D9S162 on 9p22-23. Multiple LOH (> or = 4) on 9p21-23 was found more frequently in the patients under 60 years, with supraglottic SCC or cervical lymph node metastasis than those over 60 years, with glottic SCC or without cervical lymph node metastasis (P < 0.01 or 0.01, 0.05, respectively). On the contrary, there was no correlation between T stages or pathologic classification and the frequency of LOH on 9p21-23 in 42 SCC of Larynx.

CONCLUSIONSThese findings imply the presence of at least two putative tumor suppressor genes on 9p13-23 in laryngeal SCC. Multiple genetic alterations are probably implicated in supraglottic SCC with cervical lymph node metastasis in younger patients.