Constitutive heterochromatin studies in patients with solid tumors

Constitutive heterochromatin of chromosomes 1, 9, and 16 was studied in 101 patients with solid tumors and 85 controls. Lymphocyte cultures were used for performing C-banded chromosome preparations. Two homologous chromosomes were regarded as heteromorphic when there was a 25% difference between their C-band size or when they fell into different classes according to the method of Patil and Lubs (1977). A statistically significant difference between patients and controls was found in chromosome 1 heteromorphism. No statistical difference between patients and controls was found in the heteromorphism of chromosomes 9 and 16. The frequencies with which pericentric inversions of the heterochromatin in chromosomes 1 and 9 occurred in cancer patients were 9.9% and 12.9%, respectively. Patients displaying this type of polymorphism usually showed an increased rate of chromosome associations. The most frequent associations were found between heterochromatic regions of chromosomes 1 and 9 and between the chromosome 9 heterochromatin and D acrocentrics. These results support the hypothesis concerning the involvement of constitutive heterochromatin of chromosome 1 in malignant disease.