Abstract

Chromosome data in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are sparse. In the common form, B-cell CLL, the neoplastic cells do not usually proliferate in vitro, and apparently most reports of “normal” cytogenetic patterns reflect nonneoplastic T cells dividing in mitogen-stimulated cultures. Until better methods are developed to stimulate proliferation of CLL B cells, the nature and frequency of chromosomal abnormalities in this disorder will remain largely unknown. Chronic T-cell leukemias constitute a rare and heterogeneous group of dyscrasias, ranging clinically from typical CLL to variants of the Sezary syndrome. The neoplastic lymphoeytes respond to T-cell mitogens, and in a series of nine patients, all had cytogenetically altered clones in the peripheral blood. Banding revealed nonrandom involvement of chromosomes 2, 14, and 18, with a 14q+ marker in two cases. Sequential studies in this series have demonstrated karyotypic changes over time, correlated, in some patients, with clinical course or alterations in the lymphocytes; but the general prognostic value of such investigations remains to be determined.

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