Immunophenotyping of acute lymphocytic leukemia in 111 children and clinical characteristics.

Objective To analyze the immunophenotype of acute lymphocytic leukemia(ALL) in children and its clinical presentation and prognosis.Methods Flow cytometry was used for immunophenotyping of 111 ALL child cases.The clinical characteristics,chemotherapy response and prognosis were compared among different immunophenotype groups.Results Three categories could be identified,including 81 cases(73.0%) of B lineage ALL,16 cases(14.4%) of T lineage ALL and 14 cases(12.6%) of B/T lineage ALL.There were 25 cases(22.5%) of ALL expressing myeloid-associated antigens.There was no relationship between FAB morphology classification and immunophenotype of ALL.T-ALL was significantly associated with markedly lymphadenopathy,splenomegaly,hepatomegaly,mediastinal mass,high white blood cell count and poor response in induction chemotherapy.The 3-year survival rates were 76.9% in B-ALL,75.0% in T-ALL and 83.3% in B/T-ALL.There was no significant difference between the My+-ALL and My---ALL of complete remission rates,3-year survival rates or relapse rates.Conclusion The immunophenotyping for estimation of the therapeutic effect and prognosis of ALL patients be combined with cytogenetics,molecular biology and clinical manifestations.