RESUMO
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the frequency of microsatellite instability (MSI) and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at human leucocyte antigen(HLA) class I loci in cervical carcinoma and the detailed deletion mapping in this region.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>LOH and MSI of HLA class I genes were analyzed in 30 paired blood and tumor samples by PCR based single-stranded length polymorphism (PCR-SSLP).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of the 30 cases, 23(76.7%) showed LOH at one or more loci. Higher frequencies of LOH were found at four loci: C3_2_11 (50%), C1_4_4 (37%), C1_2_5 (36.7%), D6S276 (48.3%). MSI was found in 20 out of 30 cases (66.7%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The data suggest that the LOH and MSI of HLA class I gene might participate in the carcinogenesis of cervical carcinoma. Meanwhile, the minimal deletion region might be defined between C1_2_5 and C3_2_11, thus providing the evidence for cloning the tumor suppressor genes associated with cervical carcinoma.</p>