CYTOGENETIC STUDIES ON A PATIENT WITH PREPUBERTAL BREAST-CANCER - A CASE-REPORT

Cytogenetic studies were carried in a 10 year old girl with prepuberta l breast cancer for assessing inherited genetic susceptibility to chro mosome breakage. The girl presented with a tumour in the left breast. Histologically it was diagnosed as secretory carcinoma (SC). Chromosom e anomalies observed in phytohemagglutinin (PHA-P) stimulated lymphocy tes were del(2)(q33), del(3)(p24), del(7)(q22) and dup(12)(p11p12). Th e regions involved have been reported in breast tumors. These loci, de tected in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL), could be the sites susce ptible to breakage, its subsequent effect being manifested in the targ et (breast) tissue.