Mutations of the Ki- ras oncogene in endometrial carcinoma

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent of involvement of the ras oncogene in endometrial carcinoma. Genomic deoxyribonucleic acid from 30 samples of endometrial carcinoma was examined for point mutations in codons 12, 13, and 61 from the Ha-ras, Ki-ras, and N-ras genes by means of the polymerase chain reaction, slot-blotting, and deoxyribonucleic acid sequencing procedures. An apparent somatic mutation of Ki-ras codon 12 in one of 10 paraffin-embedded tumors was confirmed by deoxyribonucleic acid sequence analysis. Two of 20 frozen endometrial carcinoma specimens were also shown to contain a point mutation in Ki-ras codon 12. No correlation between ras mutation and a number of histologic or clinical parameters was observed. These data suggest a potential role for Ki-ras codon 12 mutations in the development of some (10%) endometrial cancers.