Chromosome pattern in childhood acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL)
Y Kaneko, JD Rowley, HS Maurer, D Variakojis and JW Moohr
We studied the karyotype in 26 children with ANLL, which was diagnosed on
the basis of the FAB classification. Clonal chromosome abnormalities were
found in 21 of 26 patients. Four patients, including 3 with Down's
syndrome, had AML(M1). Nine patients, including 3 with t(8;21), had
AML(M2). All 3 patients with APL(M3) had t(15;17). Four patients had
AMMOL(M4); 3 of these had a normal karyotype. Six patients had AMOL(M5); 5
and 11q rearrangements, and 3 of these had a break in 11q23. Only one
patient had EL(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 we used our data
and previous reports on 243 aneuploid patients (169 adults and 74 children)
to correlate the chromosome abnormalities with patient age, we found
differences in the chromosome pattern seen among various age groups. This
suggests that different etiologic factors as well as changes in host
susceptibility may influence the development of and the karyotypic pattern
in the various types of leukemia. Moreover, 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.
Volume 60,
Issue 2,
pp. 389-399,
08/01/1982
Copyright © 1982 by The American Society of Hematology
