Acute and long-term cytogenetic effects of treatment in childhood cancer: sister-chromatid exchanges and chromosome aberrations.
The incidence of chromosomal aberrations in banded karyotypes and of sister-chromatid exchanges (SCEs) was determined in the lymphocytes of survivors of childhood cancer as 2 parameters which are pertinent in assessing the genetic damage induced by chemotherapy. The proportion of cells with chromosome breakage or structural rearrangement-type aberration was 1 cell in 67 in a control group of 8 untreated cancer patients and 2 parents of cancer patients, 1 cell in 8 in 12 patients currently on therapy, and 1 cell in 50 in 17 patients sampled 6 months to 35 years post-treatment. The range of mean SCE levels per cell was 4.5-6.5 in the untreated cancer patients, 4.0-9.6 in non-cancer controls, 3.3-33.7 in patients on therapy, and 4.6-9.7 in post-therapy survivors. Considerably variability was observed between individuals with both SCE and breakage assays but therapy-induced increases in SCEs were not necessarily correlated with increased levels of aberrations arising from chromosomal breakage.
D000328:Adult; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D002871:Chromosome Banding; D003434:Crossing Over, Genetic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange