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Cancer and the FRA3B/FHIT fragile locus: it's a HIT

K Huebner1, C M Croce

  • 1Kimmel Cancer Institute, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. Kay.Huebner@mail.tju.edu

British Journal of Cancer
|May 29, 2003
PubMed

Insights

The FHIT gene, a tumor suppressor, is linked to cancer progression. Its loss correlates with increased cell proliferation, reduced cell death, and poorer patient survival in major human cancers.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • The FHIT gene, located in the FRA3B fragile region, was identified in 1996.
  • It was initially proposed as a crucial tumor suppressor gene involved in various human cancers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To synthesize findings from over 350 reports published over seven years.
  • To definitively answer questions regarding the tumor suppressor role of the FHIT gene.

Main Methods:

  • Review and analysis of existing scientific literature.
  • Correlation studies examining FHIT gene status in relation to cancer characteristics.

Main Results:

  • Loss of FHIT gene function is associated with high proliferative and low apoptotic indices in cancers.
  • FHIT loss correlates with node positivity, mismatch repair protein loss, and increased likelihood of cancer progression.
  • Reduced patient survival is observed in cancers with FHIT gene alterations.

Conclusions:

  • The tumor suppressor role of the FHIT gene is confirmed by extensive research.
  • FHIT gene status serves as a significant prognostic marker for several major human cancers.

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