Amplification of CCND1, EMS1, PIK3CA, and ERBB oncogenes in ethmoid sinus adenocarcinomas.

Assess the amplification of CCND1, EMS1, PIK3CA, ERBB1, and ERBB2 oncogenes in ethmoid sinus adenocarcinomas.,Tissue samples from 13 primary ethmoid adenocarcinomas and 2 recurrences were studied at Hospital Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain, between July 1998 and February 2002. A semiquantitative evaluation of CCND1, EMS1, PIK3CA, ERBB1, and ERBB2 amplification was performed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction.,Three (23%) cases presented CCND1 amplification, one of them with a concurrent PIK3CA amplification. EMS1 was amplified in the 2 studied recurrences. ERBB1 was amplified in 1 case (8%), whereas none presented ERBB2 amplification. Oncogenic amplifications were only detected in advanced (stage III) tumors; however, no prognostic value could be shown for them.,CCND1, EMS1, PIK3CA, and ERBB1 amplifications are uncommon and appear to be late events in the development of ethmoid sinus adenocarcinoma.,New information on the carcinogenesis of this infrequent sinonasal tumor is presented.