CHROMOSOMAL-ABNORMALITIES IN THE LYMPHOCYTES OF A MALE-PATIENT WITH BREAST-CANCER

Blood lymphocyte cultures of a male with carcinoma of the breast revea led both numerical (hypodiploidy and hyperdiploidy) and structural abn ormalities, Only few cases of male breast cancer have been cytogenetic ally characterized. Earlier studies revealed normal karyotypes in peri pheral blood cultures of male breast cancer patients and abnormalities only in the tumor tissue. The present report describes 16.6% abnormal metaphases detected in the peripheral blood lymphocytes. Numerical ab normalities were loss of chromosome 9 and 19 and gain of chromosome 7. Structural abnormalities were a cell with marker, del(11)(q22-23) and dic(7;19)(q36;p13). These abnormalities are compared with male and fe male tumor karyotypes reported in the literature.