17q21-qter trisomy is an indicator of poor prognosis in acute myelogenous leukemia

A reciprocal translocation (9;11) is often found in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), mostly of the M5a type. We report a case of a child with ARAL, in whom r(9;11) was observed at diagnosis as the sole structural abnormality, together vith trisomies 19 and 21. The diagnosis was AML evolving from a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and the blast morphology was undifferentiated. Chemotherapy failed to induce morphological remission and the patient's condition soon worsened. A subclone appeared and expanded during the course of the disease, with an additional unbalanced translocation (1;17) leading to trisomy of the long arm of chromosome 17 (17q). The data available from the literature on acquired anomalies involving 17q and our observation led us to postulate a specific link; between the gain of 17q and complete chemoresistance. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.