Different DNA changes in primary and recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma.

DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was carried out on a primary and recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma in a hepatitis B virus negative patient. For the primary tumour, allele losses were found on the short arm of chromosome 17 (probe: p144-D6, 17p13) and the long arm of chromosome 5 with the probe Lambda MS8 (5q35-qter); other probes showed either no allele loss or a non-informative pattern. The recurrent cancer also showed allele loss with p144-D6, but not with Lambda MS8. In addition, the recurrent tumour had allele losses with Lambda MS43 (12q24.3-qter), pYNZ22 (17p13), and DNA rearrangement revealed by the probe Lambda MS32 (1q42-43), a pattern not seen in the primary lesion. These results indicate that the second hepatocellular carcinoma was of independent clonality and probably represents a de novo neoplasm rather than a recurrence.