Anomalías cromosómicas y citometría de flujo en adenocarcinoma de vesícula biliar / Chromosome rearrangements and flow cytometry in gallbladder carcinoma

RESUMO

Background: Gallbladder carcinoma is the first cause of cancer deaths among chilean women. The few cytogenetic studies performed in these tumors have not found specific or primary chromosome abnormalities. Also, no relationships with specific oncogenes have been found. Aim: To perform cytogenetic studies in gallbladder carcinoma. Material and Methods: A chromosomal study and measurement of dna content, was performed in 38 samples of advanced gallbladder carcinoma and in 40 samples of gallbladders without malignant changes. Results: Hyperploidies were found in the karyotype of 15 carcinomas (near triploidies and near teraploidies). These findings were confirmed in the cytometric study. Multiple structural chromosome abnormalities were found in 11 and 15 samples, such as translocations, deletions, inversions, isochromosomes, rings and markers. Some chromosome alterations such as interstitial deletion of chromosome 4, deletion of distal region of chromosome 12, deletion of distal segment of the short arm of chromosome 17 with a fracture point in p12 and rearrangement of chromosome 6 were repeated in 2 or more cases. Conclusions: Hyperploidies in gallbladder carcinoma are an alteration that appears in advanced stages of the tumor. Chromosomal abnormalities may be a primary or specific alteration of this tumor, whose prognostic or diagnostic role should be explored. There are ongogenes related to some mentioned chromosomal fracture points, that should be explored with molecular techniques