AbstractEtoposide (VP‐16) is used as an antineoplastic drug in humans. It inhibits topoisomerase II (topo II) activity by forming a ternary complex (DNA‐etoposide‐topo II). This complex prevents the DNA‐strand rejoining activity of topo II, which results in DNA‐strand breaks and the formation of structural chromosome aberrations. Topo II activity is also required for removing regions of DNA catenation prior to chromosome segregation. The possibility exists that patients undergoing etoposide chemotherapy may incur genetic damage and, consequently, may be at a greater risk for developing secondary tumors and having genetically abnormal offspring. We studied the ability of etoposide for inducing both structural chromosome aberrations and aneuploidy in mouse oocytes. Different dosages of etoposide were given to female mice at various times before and after human choronic gonadotrophin injection, and ovulated oocytes were collected 17 h later. The proportions of chromatid acentric fragments and of hyperploid metaphase II oocytes were significantly higher (P<0.01) in the etoposide groups than in concurrent controls. These results indicate that both structural and numerical aberrations can be induced without direct interaction with DNA or with the various organelles associated with chromosome segregation. Additionally, unlike other compounds (vinblastine, colchicine, benomyl, and griseofulvin) that induce both meiotic delay (ovulated metaphase I oocytes and polyploidy) and aneuploidy, etoposide did not cause meiotic delay in oocyte maturation. © 1994 Wiley