Expression of the tumor suppressor gene DCC in human gliomas.

Reduced expression and/or allelic loss of the putative tumor suppressor gene DCC has been demonstrated in colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, esophageal, breast, and hematological malignancies. We examined the expression of the DCC gene in 22 tissue samples from human gliomas (glioblastoma multiforme, oligodendroglioma, and mixed oligodendroglioma/astrocytoma). Seven of 8 glioblastomas multiforme (88%) had reduced or absent DCC expression, and 8 of the other 14 tumors underexpressed DCC when compared to normal brain tissue. These results demonstrate that reduced expression of DCC occurs in human malignant gliomas and may be part of a common genetic pathway leading to neoplastic transformation and/or tumor progression.