Significance of aneuploidy
DAVID A REW
Aneuploidy is a state of abnormal chromosome complement of cells or individuals, such that their total DNA content differs from that characteristic of their species (the karyotype) by the addition or loss of varying numbers of chromosomes or chromosome fragments. Aneuploidy is a phenomenon that has long been recognized!¹ but which has come to prominence only in the past two decades, when studies of DNA content, ploidy and aneuploidy have had a major place in oncological research². This growth has been driven by the availability of the flow cytometer and, particularly, by the facility to analyse archival pathological material3 to correlate DNA content in tumours with clinical behaviour and outcome. Despite the plethora of published papers many questions about the biological and clinical significance of aneuploidy remain.
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