Chromosome 16 inversion-associated translocation: two new cases.

Two patients with chromosome 16 inversion-associated translocation were studied with conventional cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques. The same chromosome 16 was involved in inversion and translocation in both patients. The chromosome translocation breakpoint was located within the heterochromatin of chromosome 16 but outside the alpha satellite domain in the t(10;16) of the first patient, whereas it was outside the heterochromatin area in the second case with t(1;16). These two types of rearrangements may be due to different mechanisms and illustrate the possible difficulties in recognizing the chromosome 16 inversion without FISH studies.