GeneCare Medical Genetics Center - Information on Bone Marrow chromosomes in the treatment of leukemias Bone Marrow, Leukemic Blood and Solid Tumor Analysis Chromosome analysis and other laboratory techniques can provide useful information to patients with leukemias, lymphomas, and other related cancers. These tests can help classify the type of cancer to allow for more accurate treatment, assess the effectiveness of a treatment, and help predict a patient's prognosis.
Chromosomes are units of genetic information.
There are 46 chromosomes in every cell, arranged into 23 pairs. The chromosomes are composed of thousands of genes, which control growth and development of the human body. An abnormality in the way the genes on the chromosomes are arranged in the cells can lead to cancer. A common genetic cause of malignancy is a translocation, which is a rearrangement of the chromosomes. This rearrangement of chromosomes disrupts genes on the chromosomes and may eventually lead to cancer.