Fiab classification and its relationship with immunophenotype in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

ABSTRACT

Morphological characteristics of blast cells were studied in 55 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and classified according to the French-American British [FAB] criteria. Thirty nine [70.9%] patients had FAB L[1] morphology and 16 [29.1%] had L[2] morphology. No case with L[3] morphology was identified. FAB L[1] morphology was slightly more frequent in adults [73.7%] as compared to children [69.4%]. Immunological classification of all cases using monoclonal antibodies was performed. No relationship was observed between the immunophenotypes and FAB morphology. Common - ALL and T-ALL immunotypes were in the same proportion of patients with L[1] [75%] and L[2] [25%] morphology