title: Karyotype abnormalities and their clinical significance in blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia.
abstract: We examined karyotypes and their prognostic significance in a series of 122 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in blast crisis. Of 73 patients cytogenetically examined at the onset of blast crisis 63% had developed secondary cytogenetic abnormalities in addition to the Philadelphia chromosome. These newly emerging abnormalities included a double Philadelphia chromosome in 20 patients, a trisomy 8 in 17, and an isochromosome 17q in 11 patients. Development of such additional karyotypic abnormalities was significantly associated with a shorter median survival and less response to cytoreductive treatment and was significantly more common in nonlymphoid blast crisis than in the lymphoid-type blast crisis. Thus, assessment of karyotypes at the onset of chronic myeloid leukemia blast crisis appears to be of prognostic significance for both remission duration and survival.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine III, University of Ulm, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Griesshammer
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Heinze
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bangerter
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Heimpel
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Fliedner
mesh_terms: D001752:Blast Crisis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D025063:Chromosome Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010677:Philadelphia Chromosome; D011379:Prognosis