Periodic Acid-Schiff Reaction Changes During the Course of Relapsing Lymhpoblastic Leukaemia

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Abstract
Bone marrow smears taken at diagnosis and subsequent hematological relapse from 41 patients with lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were compared to assess proportion of blast cells showing positive periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction at different stages of the same disease. Twenty patients never displayed more than 10% PAS positive blasts at any stage; of these 8 had no PAS positivity. Seven patients maintained a PAS positive cell proportion over 10% of the total but with no loss or gain in number of such cells. Fourteen patients showed significant PAS reaction change during their disease, 7 showing marked PAS positive cell reduction and 7 showing an equally marked increase. The PAS reaction apparently does not identify an ALL sub-type or mark the differentiation degree of a given case. It may indicate a specific stage of the lymphoblast mitotic cycle.