Different cytogenetic patterns in skeletal breast cancer metastases.
Short-term cultures of breast cancer metastases to bone from two patients were analyzed cytogenetically. One metastasis had a complex hypotriploid karyotype with numerous marker chromosomes, whereas the other had simple karyotypic changes in three unrelated clones, 46,XX,t(4;11 )(p14;p 13)/45,XX,- 19/46,XX,del(3)(p 13p23), suggesting that the metastasis had originated from a simultaneous invasion of multiple cells from the primary tumor. The metastasis with complex chromosomal aberrations developed quickly as part of a clinically aggressive disease, whereas that with simple changes developed more than 20 years after the initial breast cancer diagnosis. Our findings therefore indicate that the tumor karyotype may play a role in determining the clinical course in patients with breast cancer.
Adeyinka
A
A
Department of Clinical Genetics, Lund University Hospital, Sweden.
Pandis
N
N
Nilsson
J
J
Idvall
I
I
Mertens
F
F
Petersson
C
C
Heim
S
S
Mitelman
F
F
D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000556:secondary*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D008875:Middle Aged