Gene Amplification in Dysplastic Lesion of the Vulva and Cervix by FISH Analysis of Chromosome 3

Introduction: Vulvar cancer develops from precursor lesions known as vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) which frequently occur simultaneously in multiple locations and have a considerable risk or recurrence during follow-up. Invasive squamous carcinomas of the vulva frequently harbor gains on the long arm of chromosome 3, including the human telomerase gene locus (TERC). Activation of telomerase, the enzyme that synthesizes the telomere ends of linear chromosomes, has been implicated in human cell immortalization and cancer cell pathogenesis. We investigated TERC gene copy number in a series of vulvar intrae…