Journal home
Advance online publication
Current issue
Archive
Press releases
Free Association (blog)
Supplements
Focuses
Guide to authors
Online submissionOnline submission
For referees
Free online issue
Contact the journal
Subscribe
Advertising
work@npg
Reprints and permissions
About this site
For librarians
 
NPG Resources
Nature
Nature Biotechnology
Nature Cell Biology
Nature Medicine
Nature Methods
Nature Reviews Cancer
Nature Reviews Genetics
Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology
news@nature.com
Nature Conferences
NPG Subject areas
Biotechnology
Cancer
Chemistry
Clinical Medicine
Dentistry
Development
Drug Discovery
Earth Sciences
Evolution & Ecology
Genetics
Immunology
Materials Science
Medical Research
Microbiology
Molecular Cell Biology
Neuroscience
Pharmacology
Physics
Browse all publications
Letter
Nature Genetics  22, 106 - 109 (1999)
doi:10.1038/8816

Evolution of neoplastic cell lineages in Barrett oesophagus

Michael T. Barrett1, Carissa A. Sanchez1, Laura J. Prevo1, David J. Wong1, 2, Patricia C. Galipeau1, Thomas G. Paulson1, 3, Peter S. Rabinovitch1, 4 & Brian J. Reid1, 3, 5

1  Programs in Cancer Biology, GI Oncology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98104

2  Programs in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98104

3  Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.

4  Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.

5  Departments of Genetics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA.

Correspondence should be addressed to Brian J. Reid bjr@fhcrc.org
It has been hypothesized that neoplastic progression develops as a consequence of an acquired genetic instability and the subsequent evolution of clonal populations with accumulated genetic errors1. Accordingly, human cancers and some premalignant lesions contain multiple genetic abnormalities not present in the normal tissues from which the neoplasms arose2, 3. Barrett oesophagus (BE) is a premalignant condition which predisposes to oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EA) that can be biopsied prospectively over time because endoscopic surveillance is recommended for early detection of cancer4, 5. In addition, oesophagectomy specimens frequently contain the premalignant epithelium from which the cancer arose6. Neoplastic progression in BE is associated with alterations in TP53 (also known as p53) and CDKN2A (also known as p16) and non-random losses of heterozygosity7, 8, 9, 10, 11 (LOH). Aneuploid or increased 4N populations occur in more than 90-95% of EAs, arise in premalignant epithelium and predict progression10, 12, 13. We have previously shown in small numbers of patients that disruption of TP53 and CDKN2A typically occurs before aneuploidy and cancer10, 11, 14, 15. Here, we determine the evolutionary relationships of non-random LOH, TP53 and CDKN2A mutations, CDKN2A CpG-island methylation and ploidy during neoplastic progression. Diploid cell progenitors with somatic genetic or epigenetic abnormalities in TP53 and CDKN2A were capable of clonal expansion, spreading to large regions of oesophageal mucosa. The subsequent evolution of neoplastic progeny frequently involved bifurcations and LOH at 5q, 13q and 18q that occurred in no obligate order relative to each other, DNA-content aneuploidy or cancer. Our results indicate that clonal evolution is more complex than predicted by linear models.

 Top
Abstract
Previous | Next
Table of contents
Full textFull text
Download PDFDownload PDF
Send to a friendSend to a friend
Save this linkSave this link

naturejobs

Figures & Tables
Export citation
natureproducts

Search buyers guide:

 
ADVERTISEMENT
 
Nature Genetics
ISSN: 1061-4036
EISSN: 1546-1718
Journal home | Advance online publication | Current issue | Archive | Press releases | Supplements | Focuses | For authors | Online submission | Permissions | For referees | Free online issue | About the journal | Contact the journal | Subscribe | Advertising | work@npg | naturereprints | About this site | For librarians
Nature Publishing Group, publisher of Nature, and other science journals and reference works©1999 Nature Publishing Group | Privacy policy