title: Genetic abnormalities associated with the t(12;21) and their impact in the outcome of 56 patients with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
abstract: The ETV6/RUNX1 rearrangement is found in 20-30% of children with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is associated with a good outcome. To determine the cytogenetic and molecular abnormalities associated with the ETV6/RUNX1 rearrangement and the influence of this rearrangement in patients' evolution, we analyzed the molecular cytogenetic profiles of 56 children with this rearrangement and B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Secondary changes detected with conventional cytogenetics and with fluorescence in situ hybridization were found in 71.4% of cases, the most frequent being the loss of the normal ETV6 allele, 12p aberrations, duplication of the fusion gene, and trisomy 21, as in replicating the results of previous studies. In this preliminary series, with a mean follow-up of 69.3 months, secondary abnormalities did not influence patients' outcome. It seems therefore that the prognostic value of the t(12;21) does not vary and that ETV6/RUNX1 rearrangement is an independent indicator of good prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Animal, Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Unidad de Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain. iolanda.alvarez@uab.es
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Coll
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bastida
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dastugue
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cervera
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verdeguer
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tasso
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aventín
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guitart
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Caballín
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002881:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12; D002891:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015452:Precursor B-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014178:Translocation, Genetic