REARRANGEMENT OF CHROMOSOMAL BANDS-3P13-14 IN 2 HAMARTOMAS OF THE BREAST

Cytogenetic aberrations have until now not been reported in mammary ha martomas. The finding of multiple, karyotypically abnormal clones in s hort-term cultures from 2 such tumors supports the interpretation that these are genuinely neoplastic lesions. The deletion del (3) (p13p14) and trisomy 18, both known to occur as primary chromosome abnormaliti es in breast carcinoma, were among the clonal changes in one case each . Since both tumors had structural abnormalities of 3p13-14, admittedl y leading to different derivative chromosomes, rearrangement of this r egion might represent a unifying feature in the genesis of mammary ham artomas.