THE T(1-14)(P34-Q11) IS NONRANDOM AND RESTRICTED TO T-CELL ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC-LEUKEMIA - A PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY GROUP-STUDY

  • 15 September 1990
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 76  (6) , 1220-1224
Abstract
We report the nonrandom occurrence, frequency, and degree of immunophenotype association of the t(1;14)(p34;q11) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). This chromosomal abnormality occurred in leukemia cells from 5 of 1,630 (0.3%) consecutive children with newly diagnosed ALL who were entered on a single Pediatric Oncology Group classification study (POG 8600) between January 1986 and February 1989. The frequency of the t(1;14) was 3% (5 of 168 cases) in children with T-cell ALL. All five cases had pseudodiploid karyotypes, and in 3 cases the t(1;14) was accompanied by a deletion of the long arm of chromosome 6. This translocation is of special interest because the breakpoint on chromosome 14 in band q11 corresponds tothe assigned locus of the T-cell receptor .alpha./.delta. chain gene. All five of our patients and three cases reported previously have had T-cell ALL. These findings, considered together, suggest that this translocation is specific for T-cell ALL and that a gene in the 1p34 region may play an important role in malignant transformation of thymocytes.