MYCN amplification and 17q in neuroblastoma: evidence for structural association

MYCN oncogene amplification in neuroblastoma is statistically associated with gain of chromosome segment 17q21-qter. In neuroblastoma cell lines and primary tumors with MYCN amplification in the form of homogeneously staining regions (hsrs), juxtaposition of chromosome 17 material with MYCN sequences has occasionally been reported, raising the possibility of a physical affinity between MYCN and chromosome arm 17q. We used FISH to test for association between chromosome 17 segments and MYCN in eight neuroblastoma cell lines and two neuroblastoma primary tumors known to include hsrs. Evidence of an association was found in the chromosomes of both primary tumors; in one, a MYCN hsr was inserted into a structurally abnormal chromosome 17, in the other, an hsr in 16p was shown to be flanked by 17 material. In cell line NCG, hsrs in 4q and 16p were flanked by 17q material. These observations confirm the juxtaposition of 17q material with MYCN sequences in some neuroblastomas, and imply that there may be a physical or functional relationship between these two features in MYCN amplified neuroblastoma.