ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA

Objectives: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the frequencyof chromosomal abnormalities in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia at a tertiarycare hospital of Sindh. Study design: Observation study. Place of study: Isra UniversityHospital, Hyderabad and Oncology Unit Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences,Jamshoro. Duration of study: From January 2014 to March 2015. Materials and Methods:Cytogenetic analysis was conducted on peripheral blood and bone marrow samples of 100diagnosed cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Peripheral blood and bone marrowsamples were collected and putted into sodium heparinized bottles. Cytogenetic analysiswas performed by karyotyping according to the ISCN guidelines for human cytogeneticnomenclature using cytovision-+ system for image analysis. Data was analyzed on statistic8.1 USA and expressed as means, percentage and chi-square with P-value of ≤ 0.05 beingdefined significant. Results: Chromosomal abnormalities were found in 53% of the ALLcases. Numerical abnormalities were found in 71% whereas 35% cases showed structuralabnormalities. 29% cases of ALL showed diploidy and aneuploidy was found in 69% of casesand 2% cases were unknown. Highest number of patients 51% showed hyperploidy followedby 12% cases of hypoploidy and 6% showed pseudoploidy. Chromosomal translocationst(9; 22) (q34; q11) and t(8; 22) (q24; q11) were noted in 6% each and t(8; 14) (q22; q32)were seen in 5% of the cases of childhood ALL. Conclusion: The present study reportschromosomal abnormalities in 53% of cases. Numerical abnormalities were found in 71%whereas 35% cases showed structural abnormalities.