Polysomies of Chromosomes 7 and 17 in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas

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Abstract
Objective: To determine the polysomies (ie, cells with ≥3 chromosome copies) of chromosomes 7 and 17 in tumor tissue, histologically normal epithelia adjacent to the tumor (tumor-adjacent epithelia), and buccal epithelia distant from the tumor (tumor-distant epithelia) of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Design: Nonfluorescent, nonisotopic, in situ hybridization using chromosome-specific centromeric DNA probes for chromosomes 7 and 17 was performed on the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens from tumor and tumor-adjacent and tumor-distant epithelia of 19 patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas and from buccal epithelia of cancer-free control subjects who smoked and did not smoke cigarettes. Main Outcome Measures: Four hundred nuclei in tumor tissue and 200 nuclei in histologically normal epithelia were scored for hybridized signals in each sample. Results: Buccal epithelia of cancer-free control subjects who smoked and did not smoke cigarettes showed no difference in the polysomies of chromosomes 7 and 17, respectively. The polysomies of chromosomes 7 and 17 in the tumor cells were higher than those in the tumor-adjacent epithelia (P<.001 for both), tumor-distant epithelia (P<.001 for both), and buccal epithelia of cancer-free control subjects who smoked and did not smoke cigarettes (P<.001 for both). The polysomies of chromosomes 7 and 17 in the tumor-adjacent epithelia were higher than those in the tumor-distant epithelia (P<.001 for both) and the control buccal epithelia (P=.002 andP<.001, respectively). The tumor-distant epithelia and the control buccal epithelia for the polysomies of chromosomes 7 and 17 had no differences. Conclusions: The finding of genotypic abnormalities in the tumor-adjacent epithelia supports the concept of field cancerization. Such genotypic parameters may provide a genetic basis for the development of an early recurrence or second primary tumors after therapeutic treatment of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1996;122:1062-1067