Can t(8;21) oligoblastic leukemia be called a myelodysplastic syndrome?
The new World Health Organization (WHO) classification of hematologic malignancies has incorporated t(8;21) myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) according to the French-American-British classification into the category of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21)(q22;q22), while our knowledge about clinicopathological features of t(8;21) oligoblastic leukemia is still limited. We present our experience with 12 patients meeting the FAB diagnostic criteria of MDS and having t(8;21), who were compared to 43 t(8;21) AML patients. The MDS and AML patients shared most hematomorphologic, immunophenotypic, and clinical features, whereas the differences lay along myeloid maturation. The MDS patients had higher percentages of circulating neutrophils and marrow myeloid cells beyond promyelocytes than the AML patients. The incidence of Auer rods in mature neutrophils in MDS was significantly higher than that in AML, and furthermore, the neutrophils in MDS more commonly contain t(8;21) than in AML. Our findings support the rationale for the WHO classification, and future studies on large patient populations should help clarify whether the spontaneous differentiation potential could be actively associated with a hematological manifestation of t(8;21) leukemias.
Kaneda
Kinuyo
K
Department of Medicine II, Okayama University Medical School, Okayama, Japan.
Kojima
Kensuke
K
Takeuchi
Makoto
M
Takimoto
Hidetaka
H
Takaba
Seiji
S
Shinagawa
Katsuji
K
Kobayashi
Hajime
H
Miyata
Akira
A
Hara
Masamichi
M
Tanimoto
Mitsune
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002891:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21; D002898:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014178:Translocation, Genetic