Clonal analysis of human astrocytomas

Clonal analysis of many human cancers have generally confirmed that they are monoclonal. Although astrocytic neoplasms are the most frequently occurring primary tumors in the central nervous system, their clonal composition has not been systematically studied. In this report, the clonal composition of 22 human astrocytomas of all histological grades (2 well-differentiated astrocytomas, 3 anaplastic astrocytomas and 17 glioblastoma multiforme) was determined by analysis of the pattern of X-chromosome inactivation. Leukocyte and non-tumor brain DNA were used as controls. In addition, specimens from different parts of four glioblastoma multiforme were analyzed to determine whether remote areas of the same tumor had the same clonal composition. Eighteen of nineteen informative astrocytomas had a monoclonal pattern of X-chromosome inactivation; one glioblastoma multiforme had loss of heterozygosity on the X chromosome. Specimens from different areas of the same tumor all had identical patterns of X-chromosome inactivation. Leukocytes and non-tumor brain used as controls uniformly had a polyclonal pattern of X-chromosome inactivation. Furthermore, loss of heterozygosity for chromosomes 10 or 17 p loci was found in 64% (9/14) of informative specimens and identical allelic patterns were observed in specimens from different areas of the same tumor. Our results demonstrate that human astrocytomas from low to high-grade are characterized by monoclonal cell populations. The presence of monoclonality in even low-grade neoplasms suggests that in astrocytic tumors the establishment of monoclonality occurs quite early. Also, the finding of a monoclonal pattern in intermediate- and high-grade astrocytomas further supports the hypothesis that clonal expansion underlies astrocytic tumor progression.