Chromosomal instability in flat adenomas and carcinomas of the colon

• Published in: The Journal of pathology 2005-03, Vol.205 (4), p.514-521
• Main Authors: Postma, C, Hermsen, MAJA, Coffa, J, Baak, JPA, Mueller, JD, Mueller, E, Bethke, B, Schouten, JP, Stolte, M, Meijer, GA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenoma - genetics; Biological and medical sciences; chromosomal aberrations; Chromosome Aberrations; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 - genetics; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 20 - genetics; colon; Colonic Neoplasms - genetics; comparative genomic hybridization; DNA, Neoplasm - genetics; flat adenoma; flat carcinoma; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Medical sciences; multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques - methods; Nucleic Acid Hybridization - methods; Pathology. Cytology. Biochemistry. Spectrometry. Miscellaneous investigative techniques; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods
• ISSN: 0022-3417; 1096-9896
• DOI: 10.1002/path.1733

Flat adenomas are flat or slightly elevated dysplastic lesions of the colorectal mucosa, mostly with a tubular architecture. Compared with polypoid adenomas of similar size, flat adenomas show a higher frequency of high‐grade dysplasia and rapid submucosal invasion. The aim of this study was to survey whether flat colorectal lesions differ in their pattern of chromosomal aberrations from their polypoid counterparts. Six flat adenomas and 12 flat carcinomas were analysed by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and the pattern of chromosomal aberrations was compared with a previously published series of 112 polypoid adenomas and 82 polypoid carcinomas. In addition, multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) for identifying DNA copy number changes of 25 individual genes on chromosome 20 was performed on 14 flat and 15 polypoid tumours. With CGH, flat adenomas showed on average 1.8 gains (range 1–4) and 3.2 losses (range 0–4), and the flat carcinomas 4.5 gains (range 0–8) and 3.5 losses (range 1–6). In both adenomas and carcinomas, high frequencies of 20q gain (83% and 92%, respectively) and 18q loss (83% and 92%, respectively) were found. This correlation between 20q gain and 18q loss had previously been observed in a subgroup of polypoid colorectal tumours. Both flat and polypoid colorectal tumours with 20q gains by CGH showed similar patterns of copy number ratios for the individual genes tested. TOP1, BCL2L1, and E2F1 had median copy number ratios of 2 or higher, while ZNF217 had a ratio around 3. In conclusion, flat adenomas and carcinomas of the large intestine show a similar pattern of chromosomal aberrations to that observed in a specific subgroup of polypoid lesions. The transcription factor ZNF217 is an important candidate for driving the 20q gain. Copyright © 2005 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.