Partial trisomy 9p22 to 9p24.2 in combination with partial monosomy 9pter in a Syrian girl

BACKGROUND: Partial trisomy of the short arm of chromosome 9 is among the most common autosomal structural chromosomal anomalies leading to chromosomal imbalance in human. Clinical characteristics are craniofacial dysmorphism including hypertelorism, prominent nose, deep-set eyes, and down-slanting palpebral fissures. The degree of clinical severity in partial trisomy 9p roughly correlates with the size of the chromosomal imbalance. Therefore, breakpoints as well as clinical findings need to be precisely defined for differential diagnosis. RESULTS: Chromosomes of a young female were analyzed due to primary amenorrhea, short stature, developmental delay and a characteristic facial appearance. Cytogenetic analysis using GTG banding identified a karyotype 46, XX, add(9pter). Surprisingly the application of high resolution molecular cytogenetic techniques characterized a partial trisomy 9p24.2-p22 and partial monosomy 9pter-p24.2. To the best of our knowledge only four similar case were reported by now. CONCLUSION: Attempts for genotype-phenotype correlations for partial trisomy 9p might have been hampered by the fact that more complex, cryptic aberrations were neither considered nor detected in comparable clinical cases.