New cytogenetically visible copy number variant in region 8q21.2

BACKGROUND: Cytogenetically visible unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities (UBCA), reported for >50 euchromatic regions of almost all human autosomes, are comprised of a few megabases of DNA, and carriers are in many cases clinically healthy. It may be speculated, that some of the UBCA may be similar or identical to copy number variants (CNV) of the human genome. RESULTS: Here we report on a yet unreported cytogenetically visible copy number variant (CNV) in the long arm of chromosome 8, region 8q21.2, detected in three unrelated clinically healthy carriers. CONCLUSION: The first description of a cytogenetically visible CNV/UBCA in 8q21.2 shows that banding cytogenetics is far from being outdated. It is a cost efficient, up-to-date method for a single cell specific overview on the whole genome, still prepared to deliver unexpected findings.