Spontaneous and MMC induced SCE in lymphocytes from patients with cervical cancer.

The frequencies of spontaneous and mitomycin C (MMC) induced sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) were investigated in lymphocytes of the peripheral blood of women in different stages (O-III) of cervical cancer. Average generation time (AGT) was also examined by the replicative index (R.I.) method. The following results were obtained: The spontaneous SCE frequency was found to be significantly higher in the cancer group than in the control group; 8.21 +/- 1.42 (mean +/- S.D.) against 5.62 +/- 0.55. The SCE frequency gradually increased with the progression of the cervical cancer. The SCE frequency in patients with carcinoma in situ (CIS), the lowest stage of cervical cancer, was significantly higher than that of the controls. The frequency of MMC induced SCE was higher than that of spontaneous SCE in all groups, and the difference in frequency between MMC induced and spontaneous SCEs of cervical cancer group of the stages I-III was significant by different from that of the control group. The AGT of the cervical cancer group was shorter than that of the control group, but it was not statistically significant.