Chromosome Abnormalities in Leukemia

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Abstract
The renewed interest in the study of chromosome abnormalities in hematologic malignancies, particularly in the leukemias, is the result of technical improvements which permit the precise identification of each human chromosome, and of parts of chromosomes as well. The information obtained raises a number of questions regarding the validity of older notions, such as the variability of the chromosome pattern (karyotype) in acute leukemia, or the rarity of associations of specific chromosome abnormalities with particular types of leukemia. One of the surprising observations of the last few years has been the frequent occurrence of consistent translocations in a variety of hematologic malignancies. The challenging questions at present are how and why nonrandom changes, particularly consistent translocations, occur.