Fragile sites and chromosomal structural rearrangements in human leukemia and cancer

Information on chromosomal structural rearrangements in leukemia and solid tumors was retracted from a computerized databank and the literature. A binomial test procedure was used to determine the statistical significance of the observed numbers of breaks. The results showed that breakage occurred preferentially in bands known to contain a fragile site and that some of them were associated with specific chromosomal structural changes in specific types of leukemia and cancer. The hypothesis of a possible relation with proto-oncogenes is also raised.