Clonal analysis of human breast cancer by means of the polymerase chain reaction.

Clonality of human breast cancer was analyzed in small DNA samples prepared from cryostat sections, by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The method used for clonal analysis was based on restriction fragment length polymorphism of X-chromosome-linked phosphoglycerokinase (PGK) gene and on the differential methylation of the PGK gene due to random inactivation of one of two X-chromosomes by methylation in females. All the 20 breast cancer samples analyzed by the PCR-based method were monoclonal in origin and adjacent normal breast tissues were polyclonal. When DNA samples were prepared from widely separated sites of cancers, every sample was found to be monoclonal, always exhibiting inactivation of the same X-chromosome in each tumor. The study on sensitivity showed that the PCR-based method for clonal analysis can detect the presence of monoclonal cells against a polyclonal background when the monoclonal cell population is 50% or more. These results demonstrate that clonal analysis by means of PCR offers a good method for studying the clonality in small DNA samples prepared from cryostat sections of tumors. This method could be applied to distinguish between benign (polyclonal) and malignant (monoclonal) breast lesions.