Loss of heterozygosity accumulation in primary breast carcinomas and additionally in corresponding distant metastases is associated with poor outcome.

The occurrence of distant metastases is the most feared manifestation of breast cancer, often occurring years after the primary surgery and associated with poor survival. The dominant metastatic clone is characterized by an accumulation of genetic alterations, but it is not actually known at what stage of the metastatic cascade these alterations have occurred. We investigated allelic losses during breast cancer progression in a series of 17 primary breast carcinomas and 22 corresponding brain, liver, lung, and bone metastases (mean metastasis-free interval, 31 months) by analyzing 19 microsatellite markers on seven breast cancer- or metastasis-related chromosomal regions and correlated the incidence of combined loss of heterozygosity (LOH) with metastasis-free and postmetastatic survival. We found that, in comparison with the corresponding primary tumor, additional LOH events are frequently found in metastases and that the incidence of combined LOH in the primary tumor, plus the occurrence of additional LOH events in the distant metastases, correlated significantly with decreased postmetastatic survival. Combined LOH of the three breast cancer-related chromosomal regions alone or in combination with allelic loss at the p53 gene region seems to have a specific influence on the aggressive behavior of metastases. We hypothesize that the occurrence of additional LOH events is either involved in termination of dormancy of micrometastatic tumor cells at distant organ sites or acquired during further progression of metastases.