Conclusion

Overall, unique telomere FISH probes are proving to be invaluable diagnostic reagents in elucidating chromosomal imbalances. Since the average sensitivity for routine chromosome analysis is estimated to be 3-5 Mb and the sensitivity of most chromosome painting probes is no better than 1-3 Mb, the subtelomere clones represent at least a 10-fold improvement in sensitivity over currently available testing.

Furthermore, the continued examination of telomere integrity will allow genotype/phenotype correlations to be made which will contribute to defining clinical diagnoses and providing better prognostic information.