title: Treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a pilot study which raises important questions.
abstract: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients with a Philadelphia chromosome (Ph+ ALL) were treated with a combination of antineoplastic drugs recommended for both myeloid and lymphoid leukemia (BHAC-DMPV: behenoylcytosine arabinoside, daunorubicin, 6-mercaptopurine, prednisolone, and vincristine). Ph+ ALL patients with chromosome breaks which occur within the major breakpoint cluster region (M-BCR rearranged Ph+ ALL) were treated with natural interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) after entering complete remission. In this study, four of seven patients with Ph+ ALL had M-BCR rearrangement, and all achieved complete remission with karyotypic normalization. Subsequent cytogenetic analysis during complete remission in two ALL patients with M-BCR rearrangement revealed that the percentage of bone marrow cells with the Ph chromosome increased, while the bone marrow maintained remission status. This cytogenetic-hematological discrepancy led us to consider that M-BCR rearranged Ph+ ALL might be a variant of chronic myelogenous leukemia, therefore, three Ph+ ALL patients with M-BCR rearrangement were treated with IFN-alpha after achieving complete remission. In contrast, only one of three patients with M-BCR non-rearranged Ph+ ALL obtained complete remission.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Tokyo Medical College, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohyashiki
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ohyashiki
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tauchi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujieda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hojo
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohtaka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakazawa
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toyama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001856:Bone Marrow Examination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D012074:Remission Induction