No evidence for constitutional chromosome instability in testicular cancer.

Chromosome aberrations in 20 lymphocytes of 20 patients with testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT) treated with surgery alone were compared with those of 20 cells from 20 healthy controls using standard G-banding technique. No increase in structural aberrations was found in the cancer group. An unexpected finding was that of more cells with losses of chromosomes being present in the control group. These losses predominantly affected small chromosomes in the control group, whereas the pattern of chromosome loss was different in the cancer group. The literature claiming increased chromosome instability in TGCT patients is reviewed. Point estimates and 95% confidence intervals to exclude such a hypothesis based on our results were calculated.