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AH Cross, RM Goorha, R Nuss, FG Behm, SB Murphy, DK Kalwinsky, S Raimondi, GR Kitchingman and J Mirro
Department of Virology and Molecular Biology, St Jude Children's Research
Hospital, Memphis, TN 38101.
We studied the clinical and biologic features of 10 cases of acute leukemia
that met standard French-American-British (FAB) criteria for acute myeloid
leukemia (AML) but in which the blast cells also expressed the
T-cell-associated CD2 surface antigen. All cases had greater than 3%
myeloperoxidase and Sudan black B-positive leukemic blasts, and blasts from
seven cases contained Auer rods. Reactivity of the cells with a panel of
monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) indicated that leukemic cells in all cases
expressed myeloid-associated (CD11b, CD13) surface antigens, further
supporting the diagnosis of AML. However, blasts from every patient
coexpressed the T-cell-associated surface CD2 and CD7 as well as
cytoplasmic CD3 antigens. Blasts from five patients expressed surface CD25,
whereas blasts from only one expressed surface CD3. Five patients had
rearranged T-cell receptor beta-chain genes, whereas only three had
rearranged T-cell receptor gamma-chain genes. This pattern of
lineage-related gene expression appears to define a distinct subtype of AML
with T-lymphoid features (CD2+ AML) and could reflect either aberrant gene
expression in leukemic blasts or transformation of a pluripotent stem cell
having a flexible pattern of gene expression. Clinically, these 10 patients
presented at an older age with a higher leukocyte count and a higher
frequency of lymphadenopathy than did children whose blast cells were
characteristic of myeloid leukemia. Patients with CD2+ AML also had poorer
responses to remission induction therapy (50% v 80% entered complete
remission, P = .05). However, each of the five children who failed
induction chemotherapy on AML protocols had a striking response to drug
combinations usually reserved for lymphoid leukemia. We conclude that this
leukemia with mixed lymphoid and myeloid characteristics is a distinct
biologic and clinical entity.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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| Copyright © 1988 by American Society of Hematology Online ISSN: 1528-0020 | |||||||||