MYCL genotypes and loss of heterozygosity in non-small-cell lung cancer

Some studies have suggested that the S allele of the MYCL oncogene, which results from an intragenic EcoRI restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), may be associated with cancer susceptibility. In addition, this allele has also been linked to metastases and adverse survival in certain cancers, although studies of lung cancer patients from different populations have yielded controversial results. We studied 108 cases of surgical resected non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and found no evidence that MYCL gentotypes were associated with tumour progression or a worse prognosis. However, the presence of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at this chromosome lp32 locus correlated significantly with regional lymph node involvement, as well as advanced TNM stage. These data indicate the existence of a chromosome Ip candidate tumour-suppressor gene(s), possibly in linkage disequilibrium with the EcoRI RFLP in specific populations, which appears to play a role in determining tumour progression in NSCLC. Refined mapping of the critical region of loss should help attempts to identify and clone the candidate gene.