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Hemophagocytosis by leukemic blasts in 7 acute myeloid leukemia cases with t(16;21)(p11;q22)
Author(s) -
Imashuku Shinsaku,
Hibi Shigeyoshi,
Sako Masahiro,
Lin YingWei,
Ikuta Koichiro,
Nakata Yuji,
Mori Taijiro,
Iizuka Susumu,
Horibe Keizo,
Tsunematsu Yukiko
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(20000415)88:8<1970::aid-cncr28>3.0.co;2-9
Subject(s) - hemophagocytosis , leukemia , myeloid leukemia , acute megakaryoblastic leukemia , medicine , myeloid , bone marrow , chromosomal translocation , acute leukemia , pathology , immunology , biology , pancytopenia , genetics , gene
BACKGROUND In a previous study of a case of acute megakaryoblastic leukemia with t(16;21)(p11;q22), which displayed hemophagocytosis by leukemic blasts, the authors mentioned that the same type of morphology had been cited in the literature for 4 other cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with the same translocation. This observation prompted the authors to examine more cases of AML with t(16;21)(p11;q22) for this morphology. METHODS The authors reviewed bone marrow smears for the presence of hemophagocytosis in 7 patients with AML identified as having t(16;21)(p11;q22). RESULTS The leukemias belonged to the FAB‐M1/M7 (n = 5), M5b (n = 2), and contained phagocytic blasts in various percentages (< 0.2–36.7%). The blasts contained either single or multiple cytoplasmic vacuoles, in some of which the phagosomes were visible. The engulfed hemopoietic cells (red cells, erythroblasts, lymphocytes, and thrombocytes) were also noted in their cytoplasm. These observations confirmed that hemophagocytosis by leukemic blasts is a common and characteristic feature of this type of leukemia. CONCLUSIONS The study of 12 cases (the 7 cases described here and the previous 5 cases) strongly supports the hypothesis that hemophagocytosis by leukemic blasts is common and characteristic in this type of leukemia, which may be related to the specific chromosome aberration of t(16;21)(p11;q22). Cancer 2000;88:1970–5. © 2000 American Cancer Society.