No Preferential Sensitivity of t(8;21) Acute Myeloid Leukemias to Cytosine Arabinoside in Vitro: Is Intensity of Therapy or High Dose Ara-C Crucial for Response?

t(8;21) (q22;q22) Acute myelogenous leukemia in México: A single institution experience

We analyze the prevalence and clinical features of a group of patients with t(8;21) (q22;q22) acute myeloblastic leukemia, identified in a single institution in México over a 10-year period. Fifteen patients presented at the Centro de Hematología y Medicina Interna de Puebla from February 1995 to August 2005; only nine were treated and followed in the institution. Median age was 24 years, (range 7-49); there was only one male. According to the French-American-British (FAB) morphological classification of leukemia, the morphology was M2 in four cases, M4 in three cases, M3 in one case and M0 in one. In addition to the myeloid markers, lymphoid markers were identified in 6 patients. Patients were induced to remission with combined chemotherapy and three subsequently underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT). The median overall and disease-free survival has not been reached, being above 3390 days, the probability of survival at this time was 73%. In this single-center experience in México, we found that the t(8;21) (q22;q22) variant of leukemia was more frequent than in Caucasian populations, that the co-expression of lymphoid markers in the blast cells is very frequent and that this malignancy is associated with a relatively good prognosis.

Prognosis and treatment outcome in patients with acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21)(q22;q22)

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with the t(8;21) karyotype generally have a favorable clinical course, but key prognostic factors remain poorly defined. This study was conducted to determine the prognoses and treatment outcomes of patients with AML with this unique cytogenetic change. A total of 22 patients with AML with t(8;21)(q22;q22) were studied. Various parameters were tested for their impact on disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS). Another 55 patients with AML with a normal karyotype were included for comparison of clinical outcomes. Between patients with t(8-21) and those with a normal karyotype, no significant differences were noted in DFS (median survival, 15.23 vs 12.03 mo; P=.7626) and OS (median survival, 19.17 vs 18.93 mo; P=.7543). Among t(8;21)(q22;q22) patients, no clinical parameters showed a significant impact on DFS. Univariate analysis revealed that a higher platelet count (>15.10(9)/L) at diagnosis, a low white blood cell count (index < or =20), and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as postremission therapy were associated with improved OS. On multivariate analysis, HSCT as postremission therapy and white blood cell count index <20 remained good independent prognostic factors for OS. The data presented here suggest that t(8;21)(q22;q22) cytogenetic changes in patients with AML had prognostic significance similar to that in patients with a normal karyotype; patients who harbored either karyotype had parallel clinical outcomes. It is concluded that patients with AML with t(8;21)(q22;q22) would be compromised by treatment approaches that do not include HSCT as postremission therapy.