A microgranular variant of acute promyelocytic leukemia with atypical morpho-cytochemical features and an early myeloid immunophenotype.
This report describes a unique case of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) showing elusive morphologic features, an atypical pattern of cytochemical reactions, and a previously unreported immunophenotype consistent with a very early myeloid form: CD13 (+), CD33 (+), CD9 (+), CD2 (+), HLA-DR (-), CD34 (+), CD117 (+), and TdT (+). The diagnosis of AML M3 variant was made only after genotypic analyses revealed the PML/RAR alpha rearrangement associated with the typical (15;17) (q22;q21) translocation. This example of 'asynchronous differentiation' emphasizes the need for a multiparameter approach to the diagnosis of acute leukemia.
Stasi
R
R
Chair of Hematology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, S. Eugenio Hospital, Italy. mc2558@mclink.it
Bruno
A
A
Venditti
A
A
Del Poeta
G
G
Aronica
G
G
Cox
M C
MC
Maffei
L
L
Catalano
G
G
Zangrilli
D
D
Amadori
S
S
D000328:Adult; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male
D015703:Antigens, CD