Demonstration of myc and ras oncogene expression by hybridization in situ in hydatidiform mole and in the BeWo choriocarcinoma cell line.

With the use of hybridization in situ, c-myc and c-ras oncogene expression has been identified in the cytotrophoblast of hydatidiform mole and in the malignant trophoblast cell line BeWo. Expression was also found in early villous placenta. No expression of these two oncogenes was found in the cytotrophoblast of an 11-week conceptus, nor was it found in term placenta. The significance of these findings is discussed.