No abstract

A biopsy specimen of a liver metastasis of a rapidly progressing renal adenocarcinoma was chromosomally investigated. Of the metaphases studied 40% represented the karyotype of the tumor, the chromosome number being in the triploid region. A characteristic set of chromosome markers was constantly present in these metaphases. The main part of the metaphases studied, however, had a normal diploid karyotype. These cells assumedly represent normal host cells stimulated to mitotic activity by the presence of the neoplasm. The host cells seem to be intimately associated with the neoplastic tissue. The dividing host cells most probably represent immunologically activated cells.

GRIPENRERG' and ANDERS FR~LAND:' A boy w i t h a n X O / X Y k a r y o t y p e .More than 25 cases of XO/XY mosaicism are at present at record. Only one fourth of these have been raised as boys and very few have had normal male external genitalia. DE LA CHAPELLE and HORTLINC (1962) described an adult male where the only malformations found were a slight hypospadia and absence of the right testis. FERRIER et al. (1963) also found almost normal male external genitalia in their case. Both testes were very small, but placed in the scrotum. We have studied a boy where the indication for chromosome analysis was a peculiar general appearance, not the genital malformations. Case historyThe boy was born in Helsinki in May 1961. He is a second child, the first being normal. The father was 28 and the mother 27 years old at the birth of the patient. Birthweight 4440 g. 15 months old the patient was operated upon because of a leftsided inguinal hernia and bilateral undescended testes. At operation a normal-sized left testis was found in the hernial sac. No biopsy was taken. Laparotomy has not been done. Clinical appearance at the age of 2 years 8 monthsThe psychomotor development appears normal. Weight 15.35 kg, height 89 cm. The head is somewhat quadratic, circumference 52 cm. The palate is high and narrow. The eyes are normal without epicanthus. The ears are low set and the ear-lobes long and attached to the cheek. There is no webbing of the neck, the thorax is broad and has a shield-like appearance, circumference 56 cm. There is no sign of cardiac malformation. The penis is short but normal. The left testis is placed in the scrotum and is of normal size. The right gonad is not palpable. U retheroeystography showed nothing abnormal. Intravenous urography revealed a somewhat hypoplastic right kidney and a slight rotation of the left.The right hand showed a typical transverse palmar crease. The left hand was normal. Cytogenetic studiesSex chromatin studies on Feulgen-stained buccal smears showed no BarrChromosome studies were carried out on blood cultures and skin cultures bodies. (FR0LAND, 1961, 1962). The following count distributions were obtained: 44