Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with t(8;21)(q22;q22) relapsing as AML with t(3;21)(q26;q22)

We here report on an 48-year-old male patient with a primary diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-M2 with t(8;21)(q22;q22), who developed complete hematologic and molecular remission after induction chemotherapy. Thirteen months later, he relapsed and showed an AML-M2 with t(3;21)(q26;q22). Retrospectively, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for AML1-EV11 and EV11 overexpression was performed on bone marrow and peripheral blood samples taken at diagnosis and during the first year after the first manifestation of AML to quantify the AML1-EV11-positive clone. In a bone marrow sample taken 25 days from diagnosis, PCR for AML1-EV11 was negative, and EV11 expression, as assessed by quantitative real-time PCR, was within the same range as that of healthy controls. These data suggest that this patient developed a secondary therapy-related AML rather than a relapse. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.