title: Biological and clinical features of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with cytoplasmic granules or inclusions: description of eight cases.
abstract: We describe eight patients (four children and four adults) with an acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with cytoplasmic granules or inclusions. The incidence of this variant of acute leukaemia in our whole series of patients with ALL is 1.8%. The granules or inclusions were usually positive for aspecific esterases (ANAE) and/or acid phosphatase, and the immunophenotype was in all cases typical of a CALLA positive B-lineage ALL (CD10+, CD19+ and/or CD24+, DR+, TdT+, anti-T-, anti-My-, SIg-). In one paediatric case, CD33 was unusually coexpressed. Ultrastructural investigations were performed in one case and demonstrated large granules containing vesicles, usually membrane bound, in the majority of blast cells. In the two cases analysed, Ig heavy chain gene rearrangement was detected. In this series of patients prognosis was poor since three never achieved a complete remission, four relapsed and only one is still in first continuous remission.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Ricerche Cliniche, Anatomia ed Istologia Patologica, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cantù-Rajnoldi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Invernizzi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biondi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Banfi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zoia
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: De Fazio
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Polli
mesh_terms: D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002648:Child; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D000135:Acid Phosphatase