Localization of breaks induced by vinyl chloride in the human chromosomes of lymphocytes.

A group of 67 workers occupationally exposed to VCM was examined for the presence and distribution of breaks along the chromosomal length. Breaks induced by VCM are not randomly distributed as had been expected in a normal population. According to our results there exist highly sensitive and highly resistant locations along the chromosomes to the actions of VCM. The link between the highly sensitive segments of chromosomes, fragile sites and the activation of oncogenes is discussed.