STUDY ON RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DNA CONTENT AND OTHER PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN IRANIAN CHILDREN WITH ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA (ALL)

Aims and Background: The measurement of DNA content or ploidy has become a useful tool for diagnosis and treatment of malignancies particularly in patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) as it has been associated with the most favorable prognosis in these patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence of DNA aneuploidy in Iranian children with ALL and the relationship between aneuploidy and morphological subclass, immunological phenotype, leukocyte count, age and sex in Tehran's hospitals. Methods: DNA content and laboratory features were determined in 70 ALL patients from Tehran's hospitals, all of whom were under 15 years old and have not received any treatment. The morphological phenotype of the blasts was analyzed by microscopic examination. DNA content, the phenotype of the lymphoblast and WBC count were detected in the blood using flow cytometry. Results: Diploidy, hyperdiploidy and hypodiploidy were reported in 50, 45 and 5% among the cases, respectively. The mean DNA index in hyperdiploid patients was 1.21 and hyperdiploidy was found to be associated with lower leukocyte count (p < 0.001), lower age, L1 morphology and early pre-B immunophenotype. Conclusions: This study showed that detected DNA index in Iranian children with ALL is associated with some favorable prognostic factor such as WBC count, age, immunological phenotype and FAB classification but that there is a need for further validation using extra molecular methods.