Double minute chromosomes in monoblastic (M5) and myeloblastic (M2) acute myeloid leukemia: two case reports and a review of literature.
Double minutes (dmin) are small, paired chromatin bodies that lack a centromere and represent a form of extrachromosomal gene amplification. Although they have been found in a variety of solid tumors, their presence in hematological malignancies, especially acute myeloid leukemia (AML), is rare. In addition, the presence of dmin may be a mechanism for upregulated oncogene expression and is generally associated with a poor prognosis. We describe two patients who had dmin at initial presentation of AML, including the first case of M5a with C-MYC amplification on dmin, and another case with C-MYC amplification as the only cytogenetic finding. We review here a total of 33 cases with dmin in AML. C-MYC was amplified by the dmin in 25 cases, while other putative oncogenes were amplified in the other 8.
Department of Hematology-Oncology, The University of Maryland-Greenebaum Cancer Center, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
Leno
L
Thomas
Judith
J
Stamberg
Ivana
I
Gojo
Yi
Y
Ning
Aaron P
AP
Rapoport
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002843:Chromatin; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis; D005784:Gene Amplification; D016259:Genes, myc / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007948:Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute / Q000235:genetics*; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D009857:Oncogenes / Q000235:genetics; D010316:Particle Size; D011379:Prognosis
D002843:Chromatin