Evaluation of the types and frequency of unstable chromosomal aberrations induced in lymphocytes of breast cancer patients before and after radiotherapy

There is not yet an appropriate biomarker to predict or follow radiosensitivity of Breast cancer (BC) patients during or after radiotherapy. The aim of this study was to monitor chromosomal aberrations (CA) induced before and during radiotherapy in peripheral blood lymphocytes of BC patients.

Age-matched twenty normal healthy individuals and 20 invasive ductal BC patients were enrolled in this study. A blood sample was obtained from normal healthy women and BC patients before and after the first, two and four weeks after radiotherapy. Lymphocyte microculture was initiated in 4.5ml complete RPMI-1640 medium. Cells were harvested 50 hours after culture initiation. Cells were harvested based on standard protocols. Hundreds of well-spread mitoses were scored under a light microscope with a magnification of x1000 for various types of CA. Data were statistically analyzed and p<0.05 was considered a significant difference.

Results indicated a higher frequency of CA in lymphocytes of un-irradiated BC patients compared to healthy normal individuals, although not statistically significant (p>0.05). High frequencies of CA were observed in lymphocytes of BC patients after radiotherapy, significantly different from the un-irradiated group (p<0.01). The increase in the frequency of CA was increased with increasing radiation dose.

Genome instability may contribute to high background and radiation-induced CA in lymphocytes of BC patients. However, there is also the possibility of a radio-adaptation of cells during the course of radiotherapy. Results imply that dicentric chromosomes might be valuable cytogenetic bioindicators to monitor the response of BC patients to radiotherapy.