Introduction

Like most cytogeneticists, I have been informed by well-meaning colleagues at regular intervals over the last couple of decades that cytogenetics is an old-fashioned science that will be superseded in the very near future by molecular biological techniques. Yet, my laboratory is busier than it has ever been, despite the introduction of quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect the common translocations and of array-based techniques to provide a more precise global view of the genome than conventional cytogenetics could ever achieve. The value of cytogenetic analysis, particularly of malignancies, lies in its ability to detect new and unsuspected abnormalities, at a sufficiently low power that the abnormalities can be analysed and interpreted without the need for sophisticated computer software. It is rather like a low flying aeroplane able to read the lie of the land and identify the major landmarks without being able to necessarily identify the types of trees or read the street signs.