ACUTE LEUKEMIA OF CHILDHOOD - A SINGLE INSTITUTION'S EXPERIENCE

¹BOJANA SLAVKOVIĆ, ^1,2MARIJA GUĆ-ŠĆEKIĆ, ^1,3GORDANA BUNJEVAČKI, ¹S. DJURIČIĆ, ¹ALEKSANDRA KRSTIĆ, ¹D.MIĆIĆ, ^1,3DRAGANA VUJIĆ, ^1,3M. KUZMANOVIĆ, ¹NADA RAŠOVIĆ-GVOZDENOVIĆ

¹Vukan Ćupić Mother and Child Health Institute of Serbia, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro; ²Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro; and ³Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro

Abstract - The aim of this study was to investigate distribution of immunophenotypic and cytogenetic features of childhood acute leukemia (AL) in the cohort of 239 newly diagnosed patiens registered at the leading pediatric oncohematology center in the country during a six-year period (1996-2002). With approximately 60-70% of all childhood AL cases in Serbia and Montenegro being diagnosed and treated in this institution the used data represent a valid research sample to draw conclusions for entire country. On the basis of five phenotypic markers, the distribution of immunological subtypes was as follows: 169 (70.7%) expressed B-cell marker CD19 (137 were CD10 positive and 32 CD10 negative), 37 (15.5%) belonged to T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) (cyCD3 positive), and 33 (13.8%) were acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) (CD13 positive and/or CD33 positive in the absence of lymphoid-associated antigens). The ratio of males and females was 1.5:1. Most of the cases were between the ages of 2 and 4, and were predominantly B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) cases. Another peak of age distribution was observed at the age of 7. The frequency of T-ALL (18% of ALL) was similar to that reported for Mediterranean countries: France (19.4%), Greece (28.1%), Southern Italy (28.3%), and Bulgaria (28.0%). Cytogenetic analyses were performed in 193 patients: 164 ALL and 29 AML. Normal karyotype was found in 57% of ALL and in 55% of AML patients, while cytogenetic abnormalities including structural, numerical, and complex chromosomal rearrangements were found in 43% of ALL and in 45% of AML patients. Our results represent a contribution to epidemiological aspects of childhood leukemia studies.