The Characterization of Chromosomal Abnormalities Using Fluorescence In SituHybridization Procedures

Cytogenetic changes are important in understanding the pathogenesis of disease. Karyotypic analysis is particularly useful when investigatmg conditions such as human malignancies, where aneuploidy and structural chromosome rearrangements are commonly found, as in the human leukemias. In these, karyotypes can show a wide range of different structural rearrangements, with highly specific chromosome abnormalities that are used in the classification of leukemras (1 ), which, in turn, are related to specific clinical features.