What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine whether lymphocyte sensitivity to the radiomimetic agent bleomycin correlates with susceptibility to environmentally induced cancers.

Sensitivity to genotoxic effects of bleomycin in humans: Possible relationship to environmental carcinogenesis

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Observational study reveals elevated bleomycin mutagen sensitivity in environmentally exposed cancers, suggesting a biomarker for susceptibility.

To determine whether lymphocyte sensitivity to the radiomimetic agent bleomycin correlates with susceptibility to environmentally induced cancers.
Cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes from 335 normal controls, 83 colon cancer, 77 head and neck cancer, 71 lung cancer, and 82 breast cancer patients, alongside 56 healthy elderly smokers.
Assessed mutagen sensitivity by quantifying the average rate of bleomycin-induced chromatid breaks per cell (b/c).
In normal controls, chromatid breaks ranged from <0.20 to >2.00 b/c, with >11% exceeding 1.00 b/c and >22% exceeding 0.80 b/c.
Patients with colon, head and neck, or lung cancers exhibited hypersensitivity frequencies between 40% and 50%, whereas breast cancer profiles mirrored controls.
Elderly long-term smokers without lung cancer demonstrated marked resistance, with only 1 of 56 individuals (1.78%) categorized as hypersensitive.

Hsu et al. (1989) studied this question.

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Observational study reveals elevated bleomycin mutagen sensitivity in environmentally exposed cancers, suggesting a biomarker for susceptibility.