Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Sequential FISH reveals an abnormal karyotype involving 14 chromosomes in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Leukemia volume 14, pages 1705–1707 (2000)Cite this article

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has revolutionized cytogenetic analysis. Specifically, the new multiple color FISH techniques, multiplex-FISH (M-FISH)1 and spectral karyotyping (SKY),2 are proving invaluable in the investigation of the hematological malignancies. Unfortunately, not all samples are suitable for the application of these procedures, in particular in some cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) where there are only a few poorly spread and ill-defined metaphases. We describe an alternative technique using sequential-FISH with which we were able to overcome these problems and define a highly complex karyotype in a child with ALL.

A 12-year-old boy of Chinese origin presented in April 1998 with a febrile illness and arthralgia. Clinical examination showed a minor cervical lymphodenopathy, a 2 cm firm spleen, but no hepatomegaly. His FBC revealed hemoglobin 5.2 g/dl, WBC 1.7 × 109/l and platelet count 35 × 109/l. The blood film showed 10% blast cells. The bone marrow aspirate was hypercellular, consistent with a diagnosis of ALL with L1 morphology. Immunophenotyping revealed the blast cells to be positive for the B cell markers CD10 and CD19 and for the stem cell marker Tdt, but negative for the T cell marker CD7. CSF showed no blasts. A diagnosis of common ALL was made and the patient commenced chemotherapy on the UKALL 97 protocol with prednisolone, vincristine and asparaginase. He achieved complete remission at 4 weeks and remains in remission at 83 weeks.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

References

  1. Speicher MR, Ballard SG, Ward, DC . Karyotyping human chromosomes by combinatorial multi-fluor FISH Nat Genet 1996 12: 368–375

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Schrock E, du Manoir S, Veldman T, Schoell B, Weinberg J, Ferguson-Smith MA, Ning Y, Ledbetter DH, Bar-Am I, Soenksen D, Garini Y, Reid T . Multicolor spectral karyotyping of human chromosomes Science 1996 273: 494–497

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Dierlamm J, Wlodarska I, Michaux L, La Starza R, Zeller W, Mecucci C, Van den Berghe H . Successful use of the same slide for consecutive fluorescence in situ hybridization experiments Genes Chromos Cancer 1996 16: 261–264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Chinnappan D, Cowan J, Rastogi A, Miller KB, Blanchard R, Wyandt HE . Discrepant cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization results in a 26-year-old male with early T-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1998 106: 116–121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Berger R, Busson-Le Coniat M . Centric and pericentric chromosome rearrangements in hematopoietic malignancies Leukemia 1999 13: 671–678

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Ichinohasama R, Miura I, Funato T, Sato I, Suzuki C, Saito Y, Decoteau JF, Myers JB, Kadin ME, Sawai T, Ooya K . A recurrent nonrandom translocation (3;7)(q27;p12) associated with BCL-6 gene rearrangement in B-cell diffuse large cell lymphoma Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1998 104: 19–27

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Lessard M, Herry A, Berthou C, Léglise MC, Abgrall JF, Morice P, Flandrin G . Fish investigation of 5q and 7q deletions in MDS/AML reveals hidden translocations, insertions and fragmentations of the same chromosomes Leuk Res 1998 22: 303–312

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Sessarego M, Fugazza G, Gobbi M, Bruzzone R, Bisio R, Ghio R, Patrone F . Complex structural involvement of chromosome 7 in primary myelodysplastic syndromes determined by fluorescence in situ hybridization Cancer Genet Cytogenet 1998 106: 110–115

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hawkins JM, Bain B, Mehta AB, Moorman AV . Complex hypodiploidy in acute myeloid leukaemia: a United Kingdom Cancer Cytogenetics Group study Leuk Res 1995 19: 905–913

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Nowell PC, Besa EC, Stelmach T, Finan JB . Chromosomes studies in Preleukemic states V. Prognostic significance of single vs multiple abnormalities Cancer 1986 58: 2571–2575

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Dabaja BS, Faderl S, Thomas D, Cortes J, O’Brien S, Nasr F, Pierce S, Hayes K, Glassman A, Keating M . Deletions and losses in chromosomes 5 or 7 in adult acute lymphocytic leukemia: incidence, associations and implications Leukemia 1999 13: 869–872

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kakazu N, Taniwaki M, Horiike S, Nishida K, Tatekawa T, Nagai M, Takahashi T, Akaogi T, Inazawa J, Ohki M, Abe T . Combined spectral karyotyping and DAPI banding analysis of chromosome abnormalities in myelodysplastic syndrome Genes Chromos Cancer 1999 26: 336–345

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Gavin Cuthbert of the Northern Region Genetics Service, Newcastle for performing the Southern blot analysis and Peter Marynen of the Centre for Human Genetics, Leuven, Belgium for providing the ETV6 cosmid probes. This work was supported by the Leukaemia Research Fund.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leukemia Research Fund/UK, Cancer Cytogenetics Group, Karyotype Database in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, Department of Haematology, Royal Free and University College Medical School, London, UK

    MP Pinson, M Martineau, MS Jabbar & CJ Harrison

  2. Department of Paediatrics, University College Hospital, London, UK

    AM Kilby

  3. Department of Haematology, University College Hospital, London, UK

    H Walker

Authors
  1. MP Pinson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M Martineau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. MS Jabbar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. AM Kilby
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. H Walker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. CJ Harrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pinson, M., Martineau, M., Jabbar, M. et al. Sequential FISH reveals an abnormal karyotype involving 14 chromosomes in a child with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Leukemia 14, 1705–1707 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2401884

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2401884

Search

Advanced search

Quick links