Lack of association between abnormalities of the chromosome 9 short arm and
either "lymphomatous" features or T cell phenotype in childhood acute
lymphocytic leukemia
AJ Carroll, RP Castleberry and WM Crist
In childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), abnormalities in the short
(p) arm of chromosome 9, particularly those leading to the loss of material
in the p21-p22 region, may be associated with bulky disease at diagnosis
(so-called "lymphomatous" ALL) and a T cell immunophenotype. To assess
these associations further, we reviewed the clinical and laboratory data
for 100 consecutively evaluated children with ALL who had successful
cytogenetic studies. From analysis of clinical and laboratory features, 8
of the 100 patients were classified as having lymphomatous ALL. Seven of
the 100 patients had aberrations involving the 9p arm or were missing an
entire chromosome 9. The prevalence rate of 9p abnormalities in cases of
lymphomatous ALL was not significantly different from that in cases without
lymphomatous features (1 of 8 v 6 of 92, P = .62). Moreover, all seven
patients with 9p abnormalities had the common ALL phenotype. These data
suggest that although 9p abnormalities in childhood ALL occur frequently,
there is no consistent association with either the occurrence of
lymphomatous clinical features or the presence of T cell disease.
Volume 69,
Issue 3,
pp. 735-738,
03/01/1987
Copyright © 1987 by The American Society of Hematology
