Expression of truncated FHIT transcripts in cervical cancers and in normal human cells.

To analyse FHIT transcription patterns in cervical cancer, a series of primary cervical tumors and normal control samples were studied using RT-PCR. Full length and truncated FHIT transcripts were detectable in all samples tested. Interestingly, the expression of truncated FHIT transcripts by primary epithelial cells in vitro was associated with confluency. The breakpoints of most transcript deletions coincided with genuine splice site sequences, suggesting that they resulted from alternative splicing. These findings demonstrate that truncated FHIT transcripts are commonly detected in both normal and tumor tissues, and suggest that these altered transcripts are not causally related to tumorigenesis in cervical cancer.