LOSS OF HETEROZYGOSITY INVOLV1NG THE DCC GENE IN HUMAN COLORECTAL CANCERS DEMONSTRATED BY THE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

To investigate the significance of allele loss of DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer)gene in Chinese colorectal cancer patients. Methods: Using PCR technique, we examined 25 colorectalcancer patients and three cell lines for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of DCC gene about M2 polymorphicsite. Results: sixteen of the cases (64% ) were informative, and among them 4 cases (25% ) showed allelic deletion. All the 4 cases had lymphatic or hepatic metastasis. One cell line showed homozygosity.Conclusion: DCC gene is an important tumor suppressor gene, and its alterations play a role in thepathogenesis and progression of colorectal cancer.