Acute Monoblastic Leukemia with t(11;17)(q23;q21): Fusion of the KMT2A(MLL) and MLLT6(AF17) Genes

The KMT2A (formerly MLL) gene is associated with at least 10% of all cases of acute leukemia. More than 80 translocation partner genes of KMT2A have been discovered to date, six of which have been identified on the long arm of chromosome 17. Among these, the MLLT6 (formerly AF17) gene is located at 17q12 and fuses with the KMT2A gene in rare cases of acute leukemia. We report here a case of AML with a KMT2A/MLLT6 fusion that was confirmed using molecular genetic methods. According to a literature review, this is the first reported case of AML with a KMT2A/MLLT6 fusion in Korea.

A Case of Acute Monoblastic Leukemia with Hexasomy 8 / 대한혈액학회지

Additional copies of chromosome 8 are nonrandom karyotypic aberrations in myeloid malignancies with trisomy 8 being the most common. Hexasomy 8 is extremely rare and only two cases have been reported. We report a case of acute myeloid leukemia with hexasomy 8 as a sole karyotypic aberration by conven-tional cytogenetic analysis. The patient was diagnosed as acute monoblastic leukemia and showed short survival.

A Case of Bone Marrow Necrosis Preceeding Acute Monoblastic Leukemia / 대한임상병리학회지

Bone marrow necrosis is rarely diagnosed during life but is more often seen at autopsy by accident. The prognosis of patients with bone marrow necrosis secondary to neoplastic disease is extremely poor. We experienced a 59-year-old man with acute monoblastic leukemia who developed bone marrow necrosis preceding leukemia. He's main complaint was continuous lower back pain. First hematologic examination showed anemia with leukopenia and extensive bone marrow necrosis. After suffering from sepsis and only supportive management, he spontaneously recovered from pancytopenia and achieved hypercellular marrow with trilineage hematopoiesis. After 6 months, he was diagnosed as acute monoblastic leukemia (FAB, AML, M5a) from the sudden appearence of leukemic blasts on peripheral blood smears. After induction chemotherapy, complete remission was achieved. Our experience suggests that bone marrow necrosis is not uncommonly associated with hematologic malignancy and occult cancer. When bone marrow necrosis is found, we should do close follow-up to find out underlying hidden malignancy.