title: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in a patient with longstanding polycythemia vera: cytogenetic analysis reveals two distinct abnormal clones.
abstract: A 68-year-old female patient is described in whom acute lymphoblastic leukemia followed a long course of polycythemia vera. Chromosomal analysis of a peripheral blood specimen at the time of blastic transformation revealed two distinct clones: one characterized by a chromosomal abnormality frequently noted in polycythemia vera and the other by a rearrangement characteristically observed in lymphoid malignancies. These findings suggest the existence of two independent hematologic diseases: this phenomenon would not support the speculation from previous reports that lymphoproliferative disorders in patients with polycythemia vera arise from clonal evolution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anastasi
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Pettenati
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Le Beau
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kwaan
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Weil
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000150:complications*; D025063:Chromosome Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D011087:Polycythemia Vera / Q000150:complications* / Q000235:genetics; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents