There are several studies trying to show that LOH can be used to predict prognosis as well as to predict risk of malignant transformation of potentially malignant lesions. Among these studies, we read with great respect the results recently published by Zhang and colleagues (1), which prompted us to write this commentary.

Microsatellite PCR amplification seems to be one of the most commonly used method to detect LOH, although the post-PCR detection technique is not a consensus. LOH analysis using microsatellite markers is based on the identification of loss of polymorphic markers flanking tumor suppressor genes in tumor DNA compared with matched normal sample.

In their article, Zhang and colleagues (1) validated LOH profiles as risk predictors to malignant transformation of oral premalignant lesions. They report interesting results based on gel band intensity comparison. In 1992, the first studies of LOH analyses in tumors were conducted...

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