Background: To investigate the mutation of nm23 gene and its correlation with development , progression and metastasis of human lung cancer.
Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) was employed for mutational analysis of the five exons of nm23-H1 gene in 45 surgically resected lung cancer and 7 normal pulmonary tissues.
Results: In the examined DNA samples of pulmonary tissues , no homozygous loss of allele of nm23-H1 gene was observed. SSCP analysis revealed altered mobility of single stranded DNA of nm23-H1 exon 1 in one case of stage IIIB squamous cell pulmonary carcinoma with mediastinal lymphnode metastasis and malignant pleural effusion.
Conclusions: The frequency of nm23-H1 gene mutation in its coding region is rare in lung cancer. Mutation of nm23-H1 gene might play a role in the progression and metastasis of lung cancer.