There is a clear genetic component to
prostate cancer susceptibility. Regions reported to be linked to
prostate cancer include 1q24-25 (HPC-1), 1q42.2-43, and Xq27-28. There is limited genetic information on familial prostate
tumors. We used the Utah Population Database to identify
familial prostate cancer cases and selected 35 cases from high-risk families. Tissue blocks containing discernable
tumor were available from 19 cases; 13 of these yielded adequate specimens for analysis. Six cases came from families with linkage to HPC-1, 3 were known to have linkage to Xq27-28, and 4 had no linkage to a known locus; 7 cases were analyzed from patients who showed no known linkage (sporadic
tumors) as controls. These
paraffin-embedded
tumors were
laser microdissected, degenerate
oligonucleotide (DOP)-amplified, and labeled for fluorescence detection by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Loss of 7q, 10q, and 16q and gain of 8q were common abnormalities present in both familial and sporadic
tumors. Distinctive abnormalities included loss of 3p12-3p22 in 3 of 6 HPC-7-linked cases and in 2 of 3 X-linked cases and gain of 6q11-6q21 in 2 each of HPC-1 and X-linked
tumors. In conclusion,
laser microdissection, DOP-PCR, and CGH is a feasible method for analysis of
paraffin-embedded prostate
tumors. This study provides preliminary data suggesting that
familial prostate cancer harbors some unique genetic changes when compared with sporadic prostate
tumors.