Chromosomopathies in cancer patients undergoing cobalt 60 radiotherapy

Describe the before and after cytogenetic aberrations found in current patients of radiotherapy. This can be observed through the technique called 'Giemsa in fluorescence'. A minimum of 200 metaphases were analyzed in the first mitotic division in 9 patients. The patients where observed before and after radiotherapy treatment at the San Juan de Dios Hospital in Costa Rica. In each case, any type of chromosomopathy was counted using the 'Giemsa in fluorescence' test as well as Bromodeoxyuridine and acridine orange. The chromosomopathies are observed before and after treatment with radiotherapy. The treatment seems to change the frecuency, increasing the dicentric chromosomes, and centric rings after the treatment. The frequency of chromatid fractures, satellite associations, and morphological alterations were not affected by radiotherapy. The chromosomopathies produced by radiotherapy were observed both before and after treatment with variations in their frequency. After radiotherapy, dicentric chromosomes and dicentric chromosomes plus rings frequencies increased significantly. A low mitotic count was present, this could have been the result of radiation on the bone marrow or by the cell repair and apoptosis system. The standardized 'Fluorescence Plus Giemsa' test using Bromodesoxyuridine and acridine orange was used for the first time in Costa Rica. This allowed for the measurement of radiation exposure used in the treatment or detection of diseases and cancer in patients. (author)