Cytogenetic study of twenty-three primary squamous cell carcinomas of the lung

Fifty-seven primary squamous cell carcinomas of the lung were analyzed cytogenetically. Karyotyping was possible in seven cases, and chromosome counting without detailed analysis was possible in 16 other cases. The results suggested that structural chromosome rearrangements related to the short arms of chromosomes 1(5/7), 9(3/7), and 11(6/7), and the long arms of chromosomes 6(4/7) and 7(6/7) may be the primary and non-random chromosome defects which are closely associated with human lung squamous cell carcinoma. These primary and non-random chromosome defects are believed to confer a proliferative advantage to cells carrying them, and to be involved in the pathogenesis of human lung squamous cell carcinoma.