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Pre‐B and ‘common’lymphoblastic leukaemia of childhood compared
Author(s) -
Lilleyman and J. S.,
Hinchliffe R. F.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1989.tb04259.x
Subject(s) - pathognomonic , medicine , immunophenotyping , incidence (geometry) , population , pediatrics , basophilic , gastroenterology , disease , immunology , pathology , antigen , physics , environmental health , optics
Summary Consecutive children suffering from pre‐B lymphoblastic leukaemia (pre‐B ALL) were compared with those who had ‘common’ALL (C‐ALL) to assess any clinical and pathological differences between the two groups. Over 101 months 27 pre‐B children were seen—an incidence in the population served of around 0.8/100 000 per year. There was some time‐clustering and 12 of the 27 presented in one year (1987). The 51 patients with C‐ALL who presented for comparison were distributed more evenly over the study period. Pre‐B children had more basophilic blast cells with less periodic acid‐Schiff positivity. They had higher presenting white cell counts and serum concentrations of lactic dehydrogenase; two variables which were correlated with each other. There was a trend towards pre‐B children being younger and fewer had hyperdiploid blasts, but these differences were not statistically significant. No difference from ‘common’ALL in response to therapy was apparent for the pre‐B patients at a median follow up time of 17 months—too short a period for any conclusion to be drawn. Other than immunophenotype, pre‐B ALL has no pathognomonic features, but there are differences from C‐ALL in the distribution of some disease characteristics known to be associated with a worse prognosis.