| |
|
| Year : 2002 | Volume
: 7
| Issue : 4 | Page : 166-173 |
Detection of amplification in neuroblastoma using polymerase chain reaction and its impact on survival
A Pratop, S Sinha, D.K Gupta
AIIMS, New Delhi, India
Correspondence Address:
A Pratop
AIIMS, New Delhi
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
ABSTRACT: Molecular biology has revolutionized the medicine and added a new dimension to our knowledge of disease processes, especially in the field of oncology. Proto oncogenes are proteins normally present in the genome and they may be converted to oncogenes by mutations, rearrangements, translocation and deletion. One such protooncogene is the N-myc proto-oncogene seen in neuroblastoma. Amplification of the N-myc oncogene identifies a group of patients who have a poor prognosis. At present, it is generally agreed that the amplification of N-myc is still the most important prognostic factor to be investigated in every patient with neuroblastoma because of it's reliability as a prognostic indicator. There are many conventional methods to detect N-myc amplification but PCR is simple, cost-effective and less time consuming. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) requires a tiny amount of tissue sample for DNA extraction. It makes PCR of particular interest in small tumor samples obtained by fine needle aspiration or bone marrow aspiration. our study was aimed at two goals. Firstly, to attempt detecting amplification by polymerase chain reaction and secondly to see the influence of N-myc amplified tumors on overall survival. Twenty six patients were included in this study. The fresh surgical specimen were obtained during excision or during bone marrow or fine needle aspiration and analysed for N-myc amplification by polymerase chain reaction. N-myc amplification was seen in 30 percent of our patients. N-myc amplification was seen more in patients older than 1 year, stage IV disease, male, and adrenal primary tumor. N-myc amplification was also associated with early progression of the disease. The rapidity with which N-myc amplified tumors progressed' was found statistically significant as compared to the unamplified tumors. The overall median survival for N-myc amplified tumors was 10 months and that for the nonmplified tumors was greater than 26 months. Our study reinforces the importance of N-myc amplification on tumor progression and survival in neuroblastoma.
[PDF]*
|
