DO MUTATIONS AT THE GLYCOPHORIN-A LOCUS IN PATIENTS TREATED FOR CHILDHOOD HODGKINS-DISEASE PREDICT SECONDARY LEUKEMIA

Childhood Hodgkin's disease has a high cure rate but second cancers ar e common, related to treatment and perhaps genetic predisposition. The glycophorin-A (GPA) mutation assay measures the frequency of NO and N N mutant erythrocytes of MN blood-group heterozygous individuals. Muta nt frequencies in Hodgkin's disease patients were compared with contro ls. No significant difference from controls was found pretreatment or in patients treated with radiotherapy only. Patients who received chem otherapy had a significantly increased frequency (total mutation frequ ency per 10(6) cells: 31 vs 11, p < 0.001), which may be relevant to t heir known increased risk of secondary leukaemia.