Chromosomal aberrations in a series of large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas: unexpected divergence from small-cell carcinoma of the lung.

Large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) and small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) are high-grade neuroendocrine tumors of the lung. Despite different morphologic appearances, loss of heterozygosity and oncogene studies on LCNEC to date suggest genetic similarities. We analyzed 13 LCNEC and 5 mixed SCLC/LCNEC tumors by comparative genomic hybridization and subsequently compared our results with previously published data on 32 SCLCs. Comparison with SCLC showed several shared chromosomal aberrations, specifically losses of 3p, 4q, 5q, and 13q and gains of 5p. However, these aberrations are no special feature of neuroendocrine lung tumors but can also be found in other high-grade lung carcinomas. From this point of view, genetic similarities of LCNEC and SCLC are less important than the nonrandom changes that differ between these 2 tumor types. A gain of 3q observed in 66% of all SCLCs was detected only once in the LCNEC group. In contrast to the pure LCNEC, all mixed types with a SCLC component had a gain of 3q. Gains of 6p occurred more frequently in LCNEC. Deletions of 10q, 16q, and 17p were less frequent in LCNEC than in SCLC. Copyright 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company