Up to the beginning of 1986, some 327 variant Philadelphia translocations were reported in chronic myeloid leukemia. The present study represents an attempt to determine which factors (sex, age, geographic localization, etc.) influence the occurrence and chromosome involvement of these variant Philadelphia (Ph1) translocations. Clinical data indicated that band 9q34 was always rearranged in the variant Ph1 translocations and no difference existed between the hematologic and prognostic features among patients with the standard and the variant translocations. An uneven geographic distribution of the variant Ph1 translocations was found. Whether this was due to populations with different ethnic backgrounds or to environmental factors could not be determined. Twenty-eight bands were shown to be rearranged more frequently than expected (P < 0.05); 27 of them are known to contain a fragile site and/or an oncogene and/or are rearranged more frequently than expected in other malignancies. The chromosomes involved in these variant Ph1 translocations were found to show a very particular geographic distribution, which cannot be explained at present.