Loss of heterozygosity at 12q14-15 often occurs in stage I soft tissue sarcomas and is associated with MDM2 amplification in tumors at various stages.

Few studies have investigated the loss of heterozygosity and microsatellite instability in soft tissue sarcomas. Therefore, we analyzed samples of human soft tissue sarcomas to determine the status of the chromosomal region 12q14-15, which contains the MDM2 gene encoding the well-known counterpart of the tumor suppressor p53. In addition, we determined whether an amplified MDM2 gene was present in the samples.