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B Tycko, J Ritz, S Sallan and J Sklar
Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
A case of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was encountered in which the
two clonal gamma T-cell receptor gene (TCR gamma) rearrangements found in
bone marrow (BM) samples at relapse both differed from the single clonal
TCR gamma rearrangement present in BM obtained at diagnosis 5 years
previously. In contrast, two clonal Ig heavy chain gene (IgH)
rearrangements present at relapse were identical to those present at
diagnosis. Comparison of the DNA sequences of the relapse TCR gamma
rearrangements with that of the diagnostic TCR gamma rearrangement
indicated that they must have been generated de novo from TCR gamma loci in
germline configuration. By polymerase chain reaction using clonotypic
N-region oligonucleotide primers (N-PCR), cells bearing the diagnosis or
relapse TCR gamma rearrangements were undetectable in the sample from the
opposite time point. Two BM samples obtained at different times in clinical
remission were both devoid of detectable residual tumor when analyzed by
N-PCR, indicating a depth of remission of less than 1 tumor cell per 4 x
10(5) BM mononuclear cells. The tumor cells showed a primitive phenotype:
T-cell antigen-negative, CALLA/CD10-negative, CD20-negative, CD19-positive,
and positive for the myeloid marker My9. This case, which appears to
represent a tumor arising from a progenitor cell with both early B-lineage
and certain stem cell features, has implications for monitoring residual
ALL and possibly also for treatment of the disease.
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| Copyright © 1992 by American Society of Hematology Online ISSN: 1528-0020 | |||||||||