title: Do random (non-clonal) chromosome abnormalities in bone marrow predict a clone to come? Southwestern Oncology Group of Leukemia Cytogenetics Subcommittee.
abstract: The biologic significance of clonal karyotypic abnormalities in human neoplasms is becoming better understood, but the significance of rare chromosomal aberrations is uncertain. Useful, yet arbitrary, cytogenetic definitions of a clone have been established and cases with a frequency of chromosome aberrations less than the accepted convention are explained by random loss, karyotypic instability/evolution, or other technical artifact. Are non-clonal chromosomal abnormalities that may predict future clinically significant clones being ignored? A brief case report is presented raising two such issues in the same myelodysplastic patient. This child had monosomy 7 and, later, trisomy 8, as well as increased numerical/structural aberrations seeming to predict relapse. Preliminary data from the Southwestern Oncology group is also presented. Non-clonal data should be included, when appropriate, in the clinical report.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of New Mexico Medical Center, Albuquerque 87131.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: McConnell
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Foucar
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002897:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7; D002999:Clone Cells; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications