title: Immunological subtypes of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Bulgaria.
abstract: With regards to the geographical variation in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) distribution, we present data from the immunophenotyping of 171 newly diagnosed cases of childhood ALL in Bulgaria during a 4 year period (1990-1994). On the basis of 17 phenotypic markers the distribution of immunological subtypes was as follows: AUL 4%; Pro-B ALL 13%; common ALL 42%; Pre-B ALL 11%; B-ALL 1%; T-ALL 28% and unclassified 2%. Most of the cases were between 2 and 5 years of age. Common ALL was predominant (53%) in this age group. The male:female ratio was 1.7:1. The frequency of T-ALL (28%) was significantly higher (P < 0.01; t = 3.49) in comparison to that reported for the U.S.A. and West European countries (mean 13%). It was close to the frequency reported by some authors for France (20%), Greece (26%) and south Italy (28.1%). These countries and Bulgaria might form an environmental area with a moderate frequency of T-ALL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, National Center of Infectious Diseases, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Taskov
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dimitrova
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serbinova
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mendisova
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bobev
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002031:Bulgaria / Q000453:epidemiology; D002051:Burkitt Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007223:Infant; D015463:Leukemia, Prolymphocytic / Q000276:immunology; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D015452:Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology*; D017678:Sex Distribution