RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: The aim of the current work was the assessment of the mutagen susceptibility of chromosomes of patients with carcinomas in comparison to healthy volunteers. It was interesting whether the bleomycin assay can be useful for searching for more susceptible to cancer disease individuals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 4 groups of patients analysed: controls and three test groups (patients with uterine cervix carcinoma, endometrium carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma). In total 108 female patients were examined by use of bleomycin assay. Lymphocytes were cultured in vitro and treated with bleomycin. The b/c (breaks per cell) index was evaluated by use of light microscopy. RESULTS: Statistically significant increased test values were found in patients with uterine cervix carcinoma, endometrium carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: The assessment of chromosome instability could be a useful prognostic test in the diagnosis of carcinoma of female genital organs. The bleomycin assay is useful for searching subpopulations with higher chromosome instability and more susceptible to cancer disease.
