Clinical correlations with allelotype in supraglottic squamous cancer

Frequent allelic loss at a genetically polymorphic locus in tumors is an established marker for the presence of a tumor suppressor gene in the neighboring chromosomal region. This technique can be used to identify novel tumor suppressor genes and to monitor their status before the cloning of the gene itself. We have used the polymerase chain reaction and microsatellite loci on all 39 nonacrocentric autosomal chromosomal arms to identify sites of frequent allelic loss in squamous cell carcinomas of the supraglottic larynx. Our allelotype identified seven chromosomal arms (3p, 5q, 8p, 9p, 9q, 13q, and 17p) likely to contain tumor suppressor genes frequently inactivated during squamous tumorigenesis in the larynx. We tested for associations between allelic losses on these chromosomal arms and the clinical and histopathologic features of these tumors. There were no correlations with either T or N classifications. Allelic loss on chromosomal arm 13q is significantly associated with a number of histopathologic features characteristic of poorly differentiated or histologically aggressive tumors. Allelic loss on this arm also exhibits statistical trends toward association with early tumor recurrence and poor survival. The association with survival was substantiated by a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model.