Purpose: This study is to detect whether the different side effects of the same amount chemotherapy drugs administered in elderly Uygur patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and aged Han NHL patients are related to the levels of cytogenetic damage in the two ethnics. Methods: Sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) rate, hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene mutation rate, micronucleus (MN) rate, and white blood cell (WBC) count in 20 cases of two groups before and after

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... erapy were compared. Results: Before chemotherapy (at baseline level), the average SCE rate, HPRT gene mutation rate, MN rate were lower in elderly Uygur patients than that in aged Han patients, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). After each cycle of chemotherapy,the average SCE rate, HPRT gene mutation rate, MN rate in elderly Uygur patients were lower thanthat in Han patients, but this difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). However, the three indicators described above in two ethnics were significantly higher after each cycle of chemotherapy than those before each cycle of chemotherapy (P<0.05). In addition, the decreased level of average WBC in aged Uygur NHL patients was lower than that in Han patients after each cycle of chemotherapy, but this difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Spearman analysis showed that there is a negative correlation between the three indicators and the decrease of WBC counts. Conclusion: The difference of side effects of chemotherapy for NHL between Uygur and Han patients is related to the levels of cytogenetic damage.