title: B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: clinical and biological aspects.
abstract: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia of B-cell phenotype (B-ALL) is uncommon. We studied eight cases of B-ALL, investigating the clinical characteristics as well as the biological features. Cytology revealed a typical L3 profile in most cases, but in one case the morphological diagnosis was L2 and morphometric analysis indicated that the blasts in B-ALL were larger than in other ALLs. Cytogenetic study detected the typical translocations (8; 14) and (8; 22) in most of the cases. Abnormalities of the long arm of the chromosome 1 were found in four cases and a major aneuploidy was observed in one case. Cell-cycle analysis showed a high degree of proliferation with, in all cases, a small fraction of cells in G1 with low protein content (corresponding to early G1). All these biological characteristics must be related to the poor prognosis of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Service d'hématologie, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazoyer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ffrench
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Magaud
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Manel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Charrin
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Gentilhomme
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Bryon
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D002453:Cell Cycle; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D007964:Leukocytosis / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000209:etiology; D014178:Translocation, Genetic