Definition |
Abnormality in the number, form or structure of chromosomes. Particular abnormalities are associated with particular sub-types of leukemia. Loss of whole chromosomes or parts of chromosomes (deletions), extra chromosomes, switches of pieces of chromosomes from one to another (translocations) are examples of such abnormalities. A minus sign is used to indicate a deletion. For example, “-7” represents the loss of chromosome 7. This abnormality can also be referred to as monosomy 7. The chromosomes involved in a translocation are in brackets separated by a semicolon. The designation “t(8;21)” indicates that a translocation of a piece of chromosome 8 was exchanged for a piece of chromosome 21.
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