Detection of gastrin-releasing peptide mRNA in small cell lung carcinomas and medullary thyroid carcinomas using synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotide probes.

Human gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) mRNA was detected in the tumor tissues of medullary thyroid carcinomas and small cell lung carcinomas using synthetic oligodeoxyribonucleotides as hybridization probes. The amount of GRP mRNA was estimated by radiodensitometric hybridization assay. A good correlation was found between the amount of GRP mRNA and the concentration of immunoreactive GRP in the tumor tissues.