Cytogenetic and Genetic Studies in Solid Tumors: Background
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Solid tumors comprise approx 95% of all malignancies, but account for only a little over 25% of cases in published cytogenetic studies. The main reasons are:
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It is more difficult to obtain samples of malignant tissue, which often require an operation rather than taking a simple blood sample or bone marrow aspirate.
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There are technical difficulties in obtaining dividing cells from the tissue, which sometimes need long-term tissue culture with all its susceptibility to the problems of infection and contamination.
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The karyotypes are generally more complex, as most solid tumors are at an advanced stage by the time they are diagnosed; consequently it is unclear what abnormalities have occurred early, which are associated with disease progression, and which are a late, random result of increasing genetic instability.
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| 4. |
The clinical usefulness of the results is limited, compared to that of studies in leukemias, so there has been less incentive to devote to solid tumors the scarce time and resources of a service-based cytogenetics laboratory.
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