Telomeric association in women with breast and uterine cervix cancer

This study compares the frequency of telomeric associations in the peripheral blood of women suffering breast and cervix uterine cancer with a healthy control group. Two kinds of cultures were developed for each individual: with and without aphidicolin. In the normal cultures, the number of telomeric associations observed was 95.5 times higher in individuals affected by breast cancer and 41.3 times higher in those affected by cervix uterine cancer when compared to the control group (p < 0.001). In the cultures with aphidicolin, higher numbers of altered metaphases were observed in both groups as compared to the control groups (p < 0.001). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) could also be observed when comparing telomeric associations between the two types of cancer in both cultures. When we compared individuals affected by breast cancer in both types of cultures statistical differences were found (p < 0.05), and similar results were found in individuals affected by uterine cervix cancer (p < 0.001). The findings suggest that telomeric associations may be reflecting chromosome instability observed in cancer and that this instability behaves differently for various types of cancer.