Three distinct regions of deletion on 13q in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx

Genetic etiology of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx (SCCL) is very complex, with both molecular and chromosomal alterations involved. The target genes have not yet been clearly identified. Therefore, our study focused on searching for regions that potentially harbor genes related to SCCL. After comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis of a set of 52 SCCL we specified 13q21-q32 and 13q34 as the most frequently deleted regions. In order to precisely map the critical region of deletion, we studied these areas by using 15 microsatellite markers. In our material a significantly high frequency of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) (test for a difference in two proportions, p<0.001) was observed for the following markers: D13S1320 (13q21.1), D13S800 (13q21.3), D13S1818 (13q32.1), D13S770 (13q32.3) and D13S285 (13q34). Three hot spots of LOH were found: 13q21.1-q22.1 (D13S1320-D13S1824-D13S800-SHGC30014- WI-16413-D13S1186), 13q.31.1-13q32.3 (D13S317-D13S1818-D13S770), 13q34 (D13S285). Among these areas, 13q31.1-q32.3 was identified as new hot spot of deletion in SCCLs.