Micronuclei frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes of cancer patients: A meta-analysis

• Published in: Mutation research Vol. 659; no. 3; pp. 274 - 283
• Main Authors: Iarmarcovai, G., Ceppi, M., Botta, A., Orsière, T., Bonassi, S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01-09-2008; Amsterdam Elsevier Science; New York, NY
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Biological markers; Cell cycle, cell proliferation; Cell physiology; Cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Humans; Lymphocytes - radiation effects; Lymphocytes - ultrastructure; Metaanalysis; Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective; Micronucleus Tests; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular epidemiology; Molecular genetics; Mutagenesis. Repair; Neoplasms - genetics; Radiation Tolerance; Radiotherapy Dosage; Thyroid Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Molecular epidemiology; Cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay; Biological markers; Metaanalysis; Human; Mutagenicity testing; Cytodieresis; Malignant tumor; Epidemiology; Blood; Cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay;Biological markers;Metaanalysis;Molecular epidemiology; Cell cycle; Micronucleus; Frequency; Lymphocyte; Cancer
• ISSN: 1383-5742; 0027-5107; 1388-2139
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mrrev.2008.05.006

Micronuclei (MN) frequency is a biomarker of chromosomal damage, genome instability, and cancer risk that integrates acquired mutations and genetic susceptibility. To evaluate and summarize the evidence reporting association between cancer and MN formation, we performed a meta-analysis assessing the frequency of this biomarker in cancer patients. Findings from 37 publications were retrieved through an extensive search of the MedLine/PubMed database. Given the heterogeneity of the study design, all studies were re-classified into three groups: (i) baseline MN frequency of untreated cancer patients (25 studies), (ii) induced MN frequency in thyroid cancer patients undergoing radioiodine treatment (9 studies), and (iii) radiosensitivity of lymphocytes (12 studies) in untreated cancer patients. A meta-estimate of the frequency ratio (
meta-FR) was computed in each group. A significant increase of MN frequency was found in untreated cancer patients (
meta-FR
=
1.45; 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI): 1.28–1.64) and in thyroid cancer patients after radioiodine treatment (
meta-FR
=
2.26; 95% CI: 1.90–2.68). The third meta-analysis showed a negative trend of
meta-FR's when plotted
vs. the dose used to study patients’ radiosensitivity, possibly associated to a high rate of apoptosis. The results of this review substantiate the existing evidence about a role of MN in various steps of carcinogenesis. The relatively small numbers of papers suitable for the meta-analysis call for new and larger studies, possibly based on high-throughput techniques, to further understand the role of MN formation in the occurrence of genetic instability and cancer.