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Near-tetraploid acute myeloid leukemias: an EGIL retrospective study of 25 cases

Leukemia volume 20, pages 725–728 (2006)Cite this article

Near-tetraploid acute myeloid leukemias (NT-AML) constitute an unusual presentation defined by blasts containing 80–104 chromosomes without aberrant near-diploid metaphases. Only about 60 NT-AML cases have been described so far in the literature.1 Reported cases where detailed information was available can be classified as M2 AML with duplication of t(8;21)(q22;q22) (N=13),1, 2 acute promyelocytic leukemias (M3 AML) with duplication of t(15;17)(q22;q21) (N=4)1, 3 – both categories reported mostly from Asian patients – or acute erythroleukemias M6 AML (N=7)1 and M0-M5 AML putatively originating from pluripotent myeloid progenitors characterized by erythroblastic and/or megakaryocytic (EM) dysplasia (N=17).4 Near-tetraploid blast cells are characterized by their large size on bone marrow smears,2, 3, 4 but individual chromosomal abnormalities are often difficult to analyze because of their ‘fuzzy appearance’.1, 4

In order to collect more information on these rarely occurring AML, immunophenotypic and clinical databases of members of the EGIL group were searched to identify morphologically and immunophenotypically well-defined NT-AML patients. As this study was not initiated from comprehensive cytogenetic databases, the results do not provide any indication on the incidence of NT-AML. However, it allowed to retrospectively retrieve information on 25 cases of NT-AML, diagnosed between 1989 and 2003 in eight European countries.4, 5

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Acknowledgements

We thank all the clinicians from participating institutions for clinical data of NT-AML patients, especially Philippe Moreau, MD, and Francoise Mechinaud, MD, at the University Hospital, Nantes, France, and clinicians from the German AML Cooperative Study Group. We highly appreciated the kind cooperation of Eliane Duchayne, MD, Toulouse, France and Norbert Ifrah, Angers, France. We thank Eva Sollich, MD, Pfarrkirchen, Germany, for providing follow-up data of two cases. Petr Lemež collected the data from all centers and wrote the first draft. Each of the authors contributed the data of reported patients, reviewed the draft, edited the manuscript and gave a final consent. Authorship is according to alphabetical order of contributing authors.

Disclosures, conflict of interest: none.

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Author notes

  1. W Knapp: Note: Walter Knapp died on August 30, 2004.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GEIL-Laboratoire d'Immunologie du CHU, Faculté de Médecine, Nancy, France

    M-C Béné

  2. Institute of Haematology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    G Castoldi

  3. Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    A Derolf

  4. Laboratory of Haematology, Institute of Biology of University Hospitals, Nantes, France

    R Garand & P Talmant

  5. Institute of Biophysics, 1st Medical Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    T Haas

  6. MLL Münchner Leukämielabor GmbH Munich, Germany

    T Haferlach & C Schoch

  7. Institute of Immunology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    W Knapp

  8. Laboratory of Immunology, Hopital de Rangueil, Toulouse, France

    E Kuhlein

  9. Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital Jihlava, Vrchlického 59, Jihlava, 58633, Czech Republic

    P Lemež

  10. Ro,

    W-D Ludwig

  11. Department of Haematology, bert-Rõssle-Clinic at the HELIOS Clinic Berlin-Buch, Oncology and Tumor Immunology, Charité, Campus Buch, Berlin, Germany

    W-D Ludwig

  12. Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, Prague, Czech Republic

    I Marinov

  13. Department of Haematolo-Oncology, Royal Marsden Hospital, London, UK

    E Matutes

  14. Centre of Oncocytogenetics, Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Diagnostics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    K Michalová & Z Zemanová

  15. Department of Pathology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden

    A Porwit-MacDonald

  16. Servicio de Citometria, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

    A Orfao

  17. Daniel den Hoed Cancer Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    M B van't Veer

  18. Department of Internal Medicine A, Westfälische Wilhelm's University, Münster, Germany

    M Zühlsdorf

Authors
  1. M-C Béné
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  2. G Castoldi
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  3. A Derolf
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  4. R Garand
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  5. T Haas
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  6. T Haferlach
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  7. W Knapp
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  8. E Kuhlein
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  9. P Lemež
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  10. W-D Ludwig
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  11. I Marinov
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  12. E Matutes
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  13. K Michalová
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  14. A Porwit-MacDonald
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  15. A Orfao
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  16. C Schoch
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  17. P Talmant
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  18. M B van't Veer
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  19. Z Zemanová
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  20. M Zühlsdorf
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for the European Group for the Immunological Characterization of Leukaemias (EGIL)

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Béné, MC., Castoldi, G., Derolf, A. et al. Near-tetraploid acute myeloid leukemias: an EGIL retrospective study of 25 cases. Leukemia 20, 725–728 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404110

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