Objective: To identify genetic alteration in primary sporadic nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC) in Hunan.
Methods: Comparative genomic hybridization was applied to investigate the genomic imbalance in a series of 20 cases of primary nasopharyngeal carcinomas.
Results: The common chromosomal alterations included gains of chromosomes 1q, 2, 3q, 7q,8q,12 as well as losses of chromosomes 3p, 9p, 11q, 16q.
Conclusion: There are multiple regions of chromosomes with copy number changes in NPC. The tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes on these regions may be involved in the development and progress of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.