Lack of allelic loss at the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) gene locus in a pancreatic ductal (non-endocrine) adenocarcinoma of a patient with the MEN-1 syndrome.

The gene responsible for multiple endocrine neoplasia type I (MEN-1) syndrome has been mapped to chromosome 11q13. It appears to function as a tumour-suppressor gene analogous to that for retinoblastoma and allelic losses involving the wild-type of the MEN-1 allele have been found in parathyroid and pancreatic endocrine tumours of MEN-1 patients. No genetic information has been provided so far on non-endocrine malignancies that may occur in MEN-1 patients. A case of exocrine pancreatic adenocarcinoma presenting as the terminal event in a woman with a long standing history of MEN-1 syndrome and multiple endocrine tumours of the pancreas was investigated for possible allelic losses at the MEN-1 gene locus using restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) closely linked to the MEN-1 gene and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for D11S533 locus. No allelic losses were found in tumour tissue with two informative RFLPs (D11S97, D11S146) or with PCR analysis. These findings suggest that the MEN-1 gene does not confer a predisposition to develop tumours other than those that typify the syndrome.