Intrachromosomal Amplification of Chromosome 21 in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Study of 3 Cases

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy of childhood. The presence or absence of a characteristic genetic abnormality usually observed in childhood ALL plays a very important role in determining the prognosis and stratification for treatment. Intrachromosomal amplification of chromosome 21 (iAMP21) is an uncommon high-risk chromosomal abnormality than can occur only in 2% of childhood B-cell precursor lymphoblastic leukemia. Molecular genetic analysis and the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique are the basic methods used to detect the presence of the most common genetic abnormalities, the presence or absence of which has an impact on the patient's classification into the appropriate risk group. This work presents 3 BCP-ALL iAMP21-positive patients who were detected during routine genetic diagnostics using the FISH method and microarray test. iAMP21 is associated with a poor prognosis and high risk for relapse. Children with B-cell precursor lymphoblastic leukemia with this genetic entity are associated with a delayed treatment response. The FISH method and single-nucleotide polymorphism array provides a useful method to detect characteristic genetic changes.