Is exon 5 of the PTEN/MMAC1 gene a prognostic marker in anaplastic glioma?

Chromosome 10 deletions are among the most common genetic changes in highly malignant glial tumors. It has been noted that loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 10q23 is a frequent alteration in a variety of human tumors and occurs in approximately 70% of all glioblastomas. By mapping of homozygous deletions on 10q23, a candidate tumor suppressor gene has been isolated, called PTEN for "phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10" and MMAC1 for "mutated in multiple advanced cancers-1." Mutations of this tumor suppressor gene PTEN/MMAC1 have been reported in anaplastic glial tumors. The objective of this paper was to individuate a prognostic marker in exons 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the PTEN/MMAC1 gene for the high-grade malignant glioma with the most aggressive clinical behavior. In this study, we undertook sequence analysis of these exons in six selected patients with high-grade malignant gliomas who underwent radical aggressive tumor resection followed by radiotherapy within 3 weeks after surgery and subsequent chemotherapy. In them, the exon 5 sequence of the PTEN/MMAC1 gene is suggestive of a genetic survival marker in gliomas with high-grade malignancy.