Gene abnormalities in multiple myeloma; the relevance of TP53, MDM2, and CDKN2A.

Background And Objectives: Disruption of either the p14ARF- mdm2- p53 or p16INK4A- Rb1 pathways produces a breakdown of regulatory mechanisms and creates a gateway for tumorigenesis. Since the incidence and clinical implications of abnormalities of TP53, CDKN2A (encoding for p16 and p14) and MDM2 genes (chromosome 12) in multiple myeloma (MM) is not clear, we investigated allelic loss at the former two loci and gain at the latter locus in a series of 82 MM patients.

Design And Methods: Dual color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was applied to bone marrow samples to establish the incidence of changes at the above mentioned loci.