Increased Mutagen-Induced Chromosome Damage In Patients With Transformed Laryngeal Pre-Cancerosis

Factors that contribute to malignant transformation of laryngeal pre-neoplastic lesions remain largely unknown. Potential etiological factors may be related to a genetically controlled sensitivity to environmental carcinogens. in this study, we investigated bleomycin-induced chromosome damage in 15 patients who experienced a malignant transformation of pre-neoplastic laryngeal lesions during follow-up, as compared with chromosome fragility in 30 historical controls with no progression of keratoses during a 10-year follow-up, in a match-paired analysis. Chromosomal analysis demonstrated higher sensitivity to clastogens in patients with malignant progression of laryngeal pre-neoplastic lesions than that of control patients with no evolution of their original laryngeal keratoses (P=0.003). Furthermore, among the study patients, chromosome sensitivity was most apparent in non-tobacco users with malignant transformation of laryngeal disease. Our data suggest that subjects with pre-neoplastic laryngeal lesion showing increased susceptibility to carcinogens could be at higher risk for development of laryngeal carcinoma. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.