The frequency and characteristics of childhood acute leukemia with a 14q32 translocation [other than the t(8;14)(q24;q32)] were determined in 335 cases of newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 105 cases of acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL). Ten children, representing 2.3% of the entire cohort, had this abnormality (1.5% of ALL patients and 4.8% of ANLL patients). By French...

The t(12;21) (p13;q22) translocation resulting in ETV6/RUNX1 (previously named TEL/AML1) gene fusion is present in about 25% of children with precursor B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). We successfully tested 275 precursor B-ALL samples from children aged 1 to 17 years to determine the relation between t(12;21) and in vitro cellular drug resistance, measured by the fluorometric mi...

A chromosomal translocation, t(4;11)-(q21;q23), is associated with an aggressive mixed-lineage leukemia. A yeast artificial chromosome was used to clone the chromosomal breakpoint of this translocation in the RS4;11 cell line. The breakpoint sequences revealed an inverted repeat bordered by a consensus site for topoisomerase II binding and cleavage as well as chi-like elements. The der(11) chro...

MLL amplification was recently recognized as a recurrent aberration in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodys-plastic syndrome (MDS), associated with adverse prognosis and karyotype complexity. Here we present detailed results of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and expression analyses of MLL and 5 selected 11q candidate oncogenes (CBL, DDX6, ETS1, FLI1, and PLZF) in 31 patient samp...

PURPOSE Mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) abnormalities occur in approximately 50% of childhood pro-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). However, the incidence and type of MLL rearrangements have not been determined in common ALL (cALL) and CD10+ or CD10- pre-B ALL. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN To address this question, we analyzed 29 patients with pro-B ALL, 11 patients with CD10- pre-B ALL, 23 pre-B, an...

One of the most serious consequences of cancer therapy is the development of a second cancer, especially leukemia. Several distinct subsets of therapy-related leukemia can now be distinguished. Classic therapy-related myeloid leukemia typically occurs 5 to 7 years after exposure to alkylating agents and/or irradiation, has a myelodysplastic phase with trilineage involvement, and is characterize...

Cytogenetic analyses of pretreatment bone marrows were performed at local institutions as part of Childrens Cancer Group (CCG) protocol CCG-107 for infants less than 1 year of age with previously untreated acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Cytogenetic analyses from 39 patients (17 males and 22 females) were accepted after review. Several unique cytogenetic features were observed. Twelve patie...

Historically, the study of rare malignancies, including retinoblastoma, angiosarcoma, and vaginal clear cell carcinoma, has led to major findings in our understanding of cancer etiology. Leukemias that occur in children less than 1 year of age likely represent another rare group that could potentially lead to further understanding of carcinogenesis. The vast majority of infants present with a g...

The involvement of 11q23-balanced translocations in acute leukemia after treatment with drugs that inhibit the function of DNA topoisomerase II (topo II) is being recognized with increasing frequency. We and others have shown that the gene at 11q23 that is involved in all of these treatment-related leukemias is MLL (also called ALL1, Htrx, and HRX). In general, the translocations in these leuke...

A common feature of the malignant progression of human tumors is loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for various regions of their genomes. Such events encompassing chromosomes 11p15 and 11q23 are frequent in human breast tumors. Here, we have analyzed genetic and clinical characteristics of a series of primary breast tumors in order to determine: (a) a more finely mapped estimate of the involved regio...