Double‐minute chromosomes (DMS) were found in a very high percentage of neuroblastoma cells in the marrow of a 3‐year‐old patient. An interesting and intriguing finding was that similar DMS, in number and distribution, were found in diploid cells in another marrow site of the same patient obtained on a different date. Cultured blood lymphocytes of the patient also contained the DMS and possibly points to a common factor leading to the genesis of DMS. The literature of tumors with DMS was summarized and several hypotheses advanced regarding the origin of DMS; the authors favor the concept that the DMS may represent chromomeres which have been set free, with the exact agent causing this being unknown.
Two cases of Ph1‐positive AML, and one case of Di Guglielmo's syndrome are reported. A review of the literature reveals that the occurrence of a Ph1‐chromosome has been observed in a number of cases with these diseases, indicating that the Ph1‐chromosome is not solely specific for CML. By correlating cytogenetic and histologic bone marrow data, some evidence is presented that the process leading to the genesis of a Ph1‐chromosome may affect the bone marrow cells either at or beyond the stem cell level.
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