CHROMOSOME PATTERN IN CHILDHOOD ACUTE NONLYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (ANLL)

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 60  (2) , 389-399
Abstract
Karyotype was studied in 26 children with ANLL [acute nonlymphocytic leukemia], which was diagnosed on the basis of the FAB [French-American-British] classification. Clonal chromosome abnormalities were found in 21 of 26 patients. Four patients, including 3 with Down''s syndrome, had AML[acute myeloblastic leukemia](M1). Nine patients, including 3 with t[trisomy](8;21), had AML(M2). All 3 patients with APL[acute promyelocytic leukemia](M3) had t(15;17). Four patients had AMMOL[acute myelomonocytic leukemia](M4); 3 of these had a normal karyotype. Six patients had AMOL[acute monocytic leukemia](M5); 5 had 11q rearrangements and 3 of these had a break in 11q23. Only 1 patient had EL[erythrocytic leukemia](M6), and he had a normal karyotype. One patient with t(11;19), classified as AML(M2) on Wright-Giemsa-stained cells, had a strong .alpha.-naphthyl acetate esterase reaction, indicating that the leukemic cells had a cytochemical feature characteristic of monocytes. Whereas t(8;21)and t(15;17) are uniquely associated with AML(M2) and APL(M3), respectively, the 11q rearrangements are also seen in AML(M1/M2), although they are more common in AMOL(M5) and AMMOL(M4). The case with t(11;19) suggests that cells with 11q rearrangements and with AML(M1/M2) may have both monocytic and granulocytic features. When this data and previous reports on 243 aneuploid patients (169 adults and 74 children) were used to correlate the chromosome abnormalities with patient age, differences in the chromosome pattern among various age groups were found. This suggests that different etiologic factors and changes in host susceptibility may influence the development of and the karyotypic pattern in the various types of leukemia. The frequency of various chromosome abnormalities in childhood ANLL can provide a baseline for comparison of the frequency of the same abnormality in adults. The karyotypic analysis of childhood ANLL is important, not only because of the information that can be obtained about childhood ANLL but also because the data can provide substantial insight into the etiology of ANLL in adults.