Loss of heterozygosity at 19q13.3 is associated with locally aggressive neuroblastoma.

A genome-wide allelic analysis of neuroblastoma (NB) revealed a previously undescribed increased incidence of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosome arm 19q13 primarily affecting stages 3 and 4N disease. Further allelic analysis of chromosome 19q13 in a cohort of 116 NB patients using 17 polymorphic microsatellite markers identified the shortest common region of loss between D19S606 and D19S112 at 19q13.3. In some cases, clonal LOH at 19q13 was acquired during the course of disease, and deleted clones remained after cytotoxic therapy. In multivariant analysis, 19q13 LOH was associated with overall survival in local-regional International Neuroblastoma Staging System stages 1, 2, and 3 patients and was specifically present in tumors at the site of recurrence.