Discovery of genomic alterations through coregulation analysis of closely linked genes: a frequent gain in 17q25.3 in prostate cancer

Despite its high incidence as the second most common tumor in males worldwide, primary prostate cancer has been associated with few recurrent chromosomal gains and deletions that are consistent across various studies. Few studies have explored how chromosomal alterations are coupled to abnormal gene expression. Here, we review the major genomic aberrations associated with prostate cancer and describe how detailed transcriptional and computational analyses allowed us to discover a recurrent chromosomal gain in a small region on chromosome 17. Fluorescent in situ hybridization confirmed the presence of a copy number gain in 17q25.3 in tumor-associated preneoplastic lesions of the prostate, 65% of primary tumors, and metastatic samples. These results suggest the involvement of this gain at all steps of prostate cancer progression.