Abstract

Examination of a relatively small subset of information pertaining to colon tumors indicates that examples in each category (including predisposing markers of chromosomal instability, causally relevant markers, correlation between karyotypic atypia and biological malignancy, and some tumors with no detectable chromosome changes) can all be found. This discussion began with questions about the purposes that markers could serve: some of those questions with reference to colon tumors can be answered. For the most part, the presence of chromosomal aberrations can indeed distinguish between the normal and the tumor cell and, in this sense, help to define the tumor. Moreover, some specific chromosomal alterations appear to be preferentially associated with colon tumors. If the specificity can be better defined, then, like the other specific tumor-chromosome associations, those in colonic mucosa may help to identify and localize gene functions important in the growth, development, or regulation of this specialized tissue. In any event, chromosomal aberrations are of value, not only in confirming the diagnosis, but also by their associations with different behavioral patterns in both malignant and premalignant lesions. Their definition, therefore, may have predictive value for the individual patient. In particular, inability to find such alterations, while it is not evidence of a nontumorous state, in a known malignancy may at least contribute some information about the biology of that particular tumor.

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