Study of chromosomal abnormalities in 11 cases of cervical dysplasia using comparative genomic hybridization on cotton-lint cervical samples

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) allows the analysis of chromosomal imbalances without requiring cell cultures and is more reliable than conventional cytogenetic studies for detecting gains, losses, and amplified regions. To perform CGH on cervical lesions, some authors obtain the tumoral DNA from frozen or paraffin-embedded biopsies. Others use laser microdissected material from paraffin-embedded samples, followed by degenerate oligonucleotide primer-polymerase chain reaction (DOP-PCR). In all these cases, surgery is required to obtain the sample. In our study, we obtained DNA from a cotton-lint cervical sample obtained from the pathological zone using a colposcopy technique. Chromosomal alterations were found in 9 (81%) of the 11 cases analyzed. The most frequent alterations affected the 3p12, 4q25, 5q15∼q21, and 18p11 regions. Satisfactory results have been observed when the cotton-lint cervical sample has been used as the source for obtaining DNA. In the laboratory, the manipulation of this type of sample obtained by a noninvasive system is much simpler, easier, and faster than the obtained with a conventional biopsy.