Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 is an autosomal dominant condition characterized by the development of parathyroid hyperplasia, pituitary adenomas, and pancreatic islet cell tumors. Recently the gene for multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 was mapped to the long arm of chromosome 11 between the loci PGA and INT2. We tested the hypothesis that tumor development is the result of a somatic deletion that unmasks a constitutional mutation. By investigating DNA isolated from tumors and somatic tissues in 12 patients from 4 different families with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, we found loss of heterozygous markers mapped to 11q13 in 9 (82%) of 11 informative tumors. In contrast, we were unable to identify allelic loss from other chromosomes using a variety of informative probes. This high incidence of chromosomal deletion of 11q13 suggests that this region is important in the oncogenesis of this disorder.