Abstract
Certain conditions, such as Down's syndrome/DS/and Fanconi anaemia are associated with a higher frequency of malignancies. The number of children with DS suffering from leukaemia was investigated in Hungary. 0,76% of the leukaemic children were affected by DS, while only 0,07% in the general population. The present work aimed at demonstrating whether an increased in vitro mutability can be induced by chemicals in DS. Various concentrations of two alkylating drugs/Zitostop and Licurim/were used as mutagen. 1500 mitosis in the lymphocyte cultures of 5 children with DS were analysed after the in vitro addition of Zitostop, and a further 930 cells from other 5 DS patients were examined under the effect of Licurim. Using a given dose of either drug, a higher rate of induced chromosome mutations could be detected, as compared to controls. An increased rate of mutability can therefore be responsible for the higher incidence of malignancies in at least some of the syndromes predisposing to leukaemia and malignant tumours.
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Fekete, G., Dobos, M., Schuler, D. et al. Mutability in Down's syndrome. Pediatr Res 8, 915 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197411000-00097
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197411000-00097