Cytogenetic Studies in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia: A Survey of Secondary Chromosomal Abnormalities

Abstract

A series of 105 patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has been cytogenetically investigated at the Department of Hematology of the Saint‐Louis Hospital (Paris) between 1977 and 1990. Sixty‐two patients were examined at diagnosis, 32 in relapse, and 11 both at diagnosis and in relapse. The typical t( 15; 17)(q22;q 12) or variants of this translocation were observed in all but four patients. The t(15;17) was the only change in 47 cases at diagnosis and in 21 examined in relapse. The most frequent secondary change was trisomy 8 (17% at diagnosis). More or less complex chromosomal abnormalities in addition to t(15;17) were present in six patients at diagnosis, and in 17 patients in relapse. Rearrangements of 2q35‐q37 and del(11p) were observed only in relapse and may thus be nonrandom secondary changes. Cytogenetic studies performed on 19 patients treated with all‐trans retinoic acid did not indicate that this treatment induces chromosomal abnormalities.