Mutations in the human homologue of the Drosophila patched gene in Caucasian and African-American nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome patients.

The nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS), or Gorlin syndrome, is a multisystem autosomal dominant disorder. The salient features of this syndrome include multiple basal cell carcinomas, palmar and/or plantar pits, odontogenic keratocysts, skeletal and developmental anomalies, and ectopic calcification. Other features include such tumors as ovarian fibromas and medulloblastomas. There is extensive interfamilial as well as intrafamilial variability with respect to the manifestation and severity of the phenotype. Alterations in the human homologue (PTCH) of the Drosophila segment polarity gene patched have been identified in NBCCS patients as well as tumors associated with this syndrome. We report several mutations in this gene in NBCCS patients and present the clinical phenotypes of the individuals in whom these mutations were identified.