CHROMOSOME-ABERRATIONS INDUCED BY ETOPOSIDE (VP-16) ARE NOT RANDOM

The clastogenic effect of etoposide, an anti‐cancer chemotherapeutic drug, was investigated in vitro on lymphocytes of 5 healthy donors. The analysis of the first division metaphases arising after mutagenesis in G1, phase shows that chromosome‐type aberrations are much more frequent than chromatid‐type lesions. The distribution in relation to chromosome lengths of the 439 breakpoints that were accurately identified is not random: chromosomes I, II and 17 are most frequently involved, while chromosomes 4, 5 and × are seldom affected. This non‐random distribution may be related to chromosome structure, since R‐band‐rich chromosomes are significantly more affected than G‐band‐rich chromosomes. Copyright © 1990 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company