Karyotype Changes in Human Tumour Cells

Abstract

It appears that no two malignant tumors are alike. Their uniqueness could be guessed from histological and cytological appearances, but now data about their chromosomes are available. A brief review of the literature makes it clear that the common kinds of carcinoma in man show abnormalities of the karyotype which are different in every case. Illustrations are given from three unpublished cases, two of primary carcinoma and one of carcinoma-in-situ adjacent to an area of early invasion. It is concluded that the types of tumors studied are the product of cellular selection from populations of cells with karyo-typic variation.