Expression of B cell-specific activator protein/PAX5 in acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21)(q22;q22)

Characterization of Common Chromosomal Translocations and Their Frequencies in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients of Northwest Iran

Objective

Detection of chromosomal translocations has an important role in diagnosis and treatment of hematological disorders. We aimed to evaluate the 46 new cases of de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients for common translocations and to assess the effect of geographic and ethnic differences on their frequencies.

Materials and Methods

In this descriptive study, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used on 46 fresh bone marrow or peripheral blood samples to detect translocations t (8; 21), t (15; 17), t (9; 11) and inv (16). Patients were classified using the French-American-British (FAB) criteria in to eight sub-groups (M0-M7). Immunophenotyping and biochemical test results of patients were compared with RT-PCR results.

Results

Our patients were relatively young with a mean age of 44 years. AML was relatively predominant in female patients (54.3%) and most of patients belonged to AML-M2. Translocation t (8; 21) had the highest frequency (13%) and t (15; 17) with 2.7% incidence was the second most frequent. CD19 as an immunophenotypic marker was at a relatively high frequency (50%) in cases with t (8; 21), and patients with this translocation had a specific immunophenotypic pattern of complete expression of CD45, CD38, CD34, CD33 and HLA-DR.

Conclusion

Similarities and differences of results in Iran with different parts of the world can be explained with ethnic and geographic factors in characterizations of AML. Recognition of these factors especially in other comprehensive studies may aid better diagnosis and management of this disease.

A Unique "Composite" PTLD with Diffuse Large B-Cell and T/Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma Components Occurring 17 Years after Transplant

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) comprises a spectrum ranging from polyclonal hyperplasia to aggressive monoclonal lymphomas. The majority of PTLDs are of B-cell origin while T-cell PTLDs and Hodgkin lymphoma-like PTLDs are uncommon. Here, we report a unique case of a 56-year-old man in whom a lymphoma with two distinct components developed as a duodenal mass seventeen years following a combined kidney-pancreas transplant. This PTLD, which has features not previously reported in the literature, consisted of one component of CD20 positive and EBV negative monomorphic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The other component showed anaplastic morphology, expressed some but not all T-cell markers, failed to express most B-cell markers except for PAX5, and was diffusely EBV positive. Possible etiologies for this peculiar constellation of findings are discussed and the literature reviewed for “composite-like” lymphomas late in the posttransplant setting.

Acute myeloid leukemia with the t(8;21) translocation: clinical consequences and biological implications

The t(8;21) abnormality occurs in a minority of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. The translocation results in an in-frame fusion of two genes, resulting in a fusion protein of one N-terminal domain from the AML1 gene and four C-terminal domains from the ETO gene. This protein has multiple effects on the regulation of the proliferation, the differentiation, and the viability of leukemic cells. The translocation can be detected as the only genetic abnormality or as part of more complex abnormalities. If t(8;21) is detected in a patient with bone marrow pathology, the diagnosis AML can be made based on this abnormality alone. t(8;21) is usually associated with a good prognosis. Whether the detection of the fusion gene can be used for evaluation of minimal residual disease and risk of leukemia relapse remains to be clarified. To conclude, detection of t(8;21) is essential for optimal handling of these patients as it has both diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications.

PAX-5: a valuable immunohistochemical marker in the differential diagnosis of lymphoid neoplasms

OBJECTIVE

Undifferentiated tumors and hematolymphoid neoplasms can be diagnostically challenging due to potential overlap of morphologic features and variant antigen expression. PAX-5, a transcription factor expressed throughout B-cell maturation, is detected in most B-cell neoplasms including those that lack expression of mature B-cell markers, such as classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), B-lymphoblastic leukemia and B-cell lymphomas following rituximab therapy. The lack of PAX-5 expression in most CD30-positive non-hematopoietic malignancies (embryonal carcinoma and seminoma) and T-cell lymphomas, such as anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), suggests that the absence of PAX-5 may be used to confirm non-B-cell lineage. The goal of this study was to retrospectively assess PAX-5 immunoreactivity in diagnostic samples of hematolymphoid and other non-hematopoietic malignancies.

DESIGN

Diagnostic lymph node, decalcified core bone marrow biopsies and tissue sections from 111 archived paraffin-embedded tissue blocks and a tissue lymphoma microarray were immunostained using a monoclonal antibody to PAX-5. The corresponding hematoxylin and eosin stained tissue sections and additional immunostains were simultaneously evaluated. PAX-5 immunoreactivity in neoplastic cells was scored as positive or negative. This study was exempted by the Institutional Review Board for Human Research.

RESULTS

Nuclear PAX-5 immunoreactivity was detected in 88% (36/41) of Hodgkin lymphoma, all cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (n=72), small B-cell lymphomas (n=5), B-lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma and mixed phenotype acute leukemia with B-cell lineage (n=5). PAX-5 was not detected in ALCL (n=22), T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma, mixed phenotype acute leukemia with T-cell lineage (n=5), acute myeloid leukemia (n=4), carcinoid tumors with typical morphology (n=5), melanoma (n=3), and undifferentiated/metastatic tumors (n=8). Non-neoplastic bone marrow sections showed scattered nuclear staining in small B-cell lymphocytes/hematogones. The detection of PAX-5 immunoreactivity resulted in the reclassification of two cases of ALCL to cHL.

CONCLUSION

Overall, our results demonstrate that including PAX-5 in a panel with other immunomarkers helps establish B-cell lineage and increases diagnostic yield.

Modeling interactions between leukemia-specific chromosomal changes, somatic mutations, and gene expression patterns during progression of core-binding factor leukemias

In cancer genomes, changes observed during tumor progression can be difficult to separate from nonspecific accumulation of cytogenetic changes due to cancer-associated genetic instability. We studied genetic changes occurring over time in cancers presenting with a relatively simple karyotype, namely two related core-binding factor (CBF) acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs), to assess how specific chromosomal changes are selected based on tumor subtype and acquired somatic mutations. Expression profiles for DNA replication/repair genes and the mutation status of KRAS, NRAS, FLT3, and KIT were compared with the karyotypic changes at diagnosis and relapse(s) in 94 cases of inv(16)(p13.1q22)-AML and 82 cases of t(8;21)(q22;q22)-AML. The majority of both AML types demonstrated a simple aneuploid pattern of cytogenetic progression, with highly distinctive patterns of chromosome copy number changes, such as +22 and +13 exclusively in inv(16)-AML and -Y and -X in t(8;21)-AML. Selection of certain cytogenetic changes correlated with particular somatic mutations, such as +8 with RAS mutation, and absence of kinase pathway mutations in t(8;21)-AML with localized deletions at chromosome band 9q22. Alterations in transcript levels of mitotic spindle kinases such as CHEK1, AURKA, and AURKB were associated with the aneuploid progression pattern, particularly in t(8;21) cases. Despite the similarity in the initiating genetics of the two CBF AML types, highly tumor-specific patterns of limited aneuploidy are noted that persist and continue to accumulate at relapse. Thus, activation of genetic instability, possibly through mitotic spindle dysregulation, leads rapidly to the selection of advantageous single chromosome aneuploidy.

Novel CD19 expression in a peripheral T cell lymphoma: A flow cytometry case report with morphologic correlation

BACKGROUND

Peripheral T-cell lymphomas are uncommon lymphomas that show T-cell antigenic loss and clonal T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangement. Rare cases of T-cell lymphomas with aberrant expression of CD20 have been described. However, CD19 coexpression in a mature T-cell neoplasm has not been reported.

METHODS

Histology, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and PCR for TCR gene rearrangement were performed on an excised lymph node specimen and a subsequent fine needle aspiration (FNA) of an additional lymph node. Flow cytometry (FC) was performed on FNA and peripheral blood specimen.

RESULTS

The lymph node's architecture was effaced by a diffuse atypical lymphoid proliferation that, by IHC, was positive for CD3, CD2, and CD43 and negative for CD4, CD5, CD8, TdT, CD1a, and B-cell-associated antigens PAX-5, CD20, and CD79a. A clonal TCR gene rearrangement was detected. FC was performed on a subsequent FNA, and peripheral blood specimen demonstrated an aberrant T-cell population with expression of CD2, CD3, CD27, TCR alpha/beta, CD52, CD38, CD45, and CD26 (partial expression) and negative for CD4, CD5, CD7, CD8, CD10, CD30, and CD56. The aberrant T-cell population also expressed bright CD19.

CONCLUSIONS

Using FC, we describe the first case of peripheral T-cell lymphoma with aberrant coexpression of CD19.