Cytogenetics of acute leukemia in 90 children and young adults

ABSTRACT

The karyotypic abnormalities of 90 children and young adults with acute leukemia presenting at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation during a ten-year period are summarized. There was an inverse relationship between age and survival as well as an association between type of leukemia and survival. Certain cytogenetic abnormalities were also associated with an unfavorable prognosis. Both pseudodiploidy and the presence of an unidentifiable marker chromosome were determined to have a median survival of five months. Pseudodiploidy may be characterized by specific translocations such as t(8;14), t(4;ll), t(9;22), and t(15;17), which are associated with clinical subgroups of acute leukemia known to be poorly responsive to therapy. Conversely, hyperdiploidy and normal diploidy in childhood leukemia determined a subgroup of patients with a median survival of 30 months.