Journal Top Ten, Columns-Asbestos, December 2004

ARTICLE: "Loss of heterozygosity of chromosome 3p21 is associated with mutant TP53 and better patient survival in non-small-cell lung cancer."

SUMMARY: The authors of the study note that allelic loss of chromosome region 3p21.3 occurs early and frequently in non-small-cell lung cancer, and numerous tumor suppressor genes at this locus may be targets of inactivation. When examining patient outcome, the researchers found that in squamous cell carcinomas, having any LOH in this region was associated with a better overall survival. Together, these results indicate that allelic loss at 3p21 can …