Chromosome abnormalities and MLL rearrangements in acute myeloid leukemia of infants

Of 29 infants with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 14 (48%) had various 11q23 translocations. MLL rearrangements were examined in 21 of the 29 patients, and 11 (52%) showed the rearrangements. 11q23 translocations and/or MLL rearrangements were found in 17 (58%) of the 29 patients. While all but one of the 17 patients with 11q23/MLL rearrangements had M4 or M5 type of the FAB classification, the 12 patients without such rearrangements had various FAB types, including M2, M4, M4EO, M6 and M7. Of the 12 patients with other chromosome abnormalities or normal karyotypes, two had inv(16) or t(16;16), one had t(1;22)(p13;q13), and two had a novel translocation, t(7;12)(q32;p13). The breakpoint on 12p of the t(7;12) was assigned to intron 1 or the region just upstream of exon 1 of the TEL/ETV6 gene by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The event-free survival at 5 years for the 17 patients with 11q23/MLL rearrangements was 42.2%, and that for the 12 patients without such rearrangements was 31.3% (P = 0.5544). 11q23/MLL rearrangements have been frequently reported and a poor prognosis in infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia implied. Our study showed that while 11q23/MLL rearrangements were also common in infant AML, AML infants with such rearrangements had a clinical outcome similar to that of AML infants without such rearrangements.