MEANS FOR DETECTING FAMILIAL COLON CANCER (FCC)

摘要

Markers of chromosome 2 are associated with cancer predisposition, as shown by linkage analysis, in a significant fraction of families with a history of colon and other cancers. Tumors from these patients progressed through the same series of accumulated mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes found in non-familial cases, but showed no losses of heterozygosity for the linked chromosome 2 markers. DNA from the tumors (but not normal tissues) in most familial cases revealed a consistent and distinct abnormality: rearrangemnets in short repeated sequences throughout their genomes. This abnormality suggests that a large number of replication errors had occurred during tumor development. Methods are presented for detecting the presence of the gene which predisposes people to have a colon and other tumors and for utilizing this information for diagnostic, prognostic, and preventive purposes. DNA markers useful for such methods are also described.