A unique pattern of proto-oncogene abnormalities in ovarian adenocarcinomas

Abstract
Twelve cases of ovarian adenocarcinoma were studied for alterations in proto-oncogenes, and a unique pattern of altered ras proto-oncogenes was observed. Amplification of ras-Ki was found in three of seven ovarian tumors and amplification of ras-Ha in one of 12. In contrast, ras-Ha amplification was not found in any of the 334 other tumors and ras-Ki amplification was only seen in breast cancer at a frequency of 3%. Other proto-oncogenes altered in ovarian adenocarcinomas included c-myc and c-erbb-2. Proto-oncogene abnormalities were more frequent in aggressive tumors of high histologic grade.