Immunophenotypic and Cytogenetic Features of Childhood Acute Leukemia in Serbia and Montenegro

摘要

Childhood acute leukemia (AL) is comprised of a heterogeneous group of diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and biological features of AL in Serbia and Montenegro at presentation using inexpensive technologies. This study included 335 newly diagnosed patients enrolled at the two leading pediatric onco-hematology centers during a six-year period (1996-2002). Morphological analysis was performed using conventional methods and immunophenotyping was performed with five monoclonal antibodies (CD3, CD19, CD10, CD13 and CD33) using the alkaline-phosphatase/anti-alkaline-phosphatase (APAAP) method. Cytogenetic analysis was performed directly on bone marrow cells and/or un-stimulated cells from 24-48h cultures. The distribution ofimmunological subtypes was as follows: 240 (72%) were diagnosed with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), 48 (14%) had T-ALL and 47 (14%) acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Cytogenetic analyses were performed on 193 patients and revealed164 cases of ALL and 29 cases of AML. Normal karyotype was found in 57 % of ALL and 55% of AML patients, while Cytogenetic abnormalities including structural, numerical and complex chromosomal rearrangements were found in 43 % of ALL and 45% of AML patients. Distribution of age, gender and immunophenotype were as expected for Caucasian children. This study represents the first description of the immunophenotypic and Cytogenetic characteristics of a large series of children with AL, and is representativeof the entire population of Serbia and Montenegro.