Genetic abnormalities in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia at Hue Central Hospital, Vietnam

Aim: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignant disease in children. Genetic abnormalities have been recognized to have prognostic or therapeutic relevance. In this study, we aimed to analyze the genetic abnormalities in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients which impact treatment and prognosis.Material and Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study on childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who admitted to the hospital between April 2018 and May 2022.Results: There were 83 new patients, the male to female ratio was 1.37:1. The mean age was 5,18 +/- 3,46 years. The most common symptoms were anemia (84.3%), fever (55.4%), hepatomegaly (53%), splenomegaly (45.8%), enlarged lymph nodes (45.8%), bleeding (34.9%) and bone pain (26.5%). Regarding laboratory features, 30.1% of the patients had white blood cell (WBC) >= 50x109/l, 74.5% of the patients had platelet (PLT) < 100x109/l, 90.3% of the patients had blood hemoglobin level (Hb) < 11 g/dl. Genetic analysis showed that 12.1% of patients have TEL/AML1, 4.8% of patients have BCR/ABL1, 3.6% of patients have E2A/PBX1, 2.4% of patients have MLL/AF4 and 1.2% of patients have SET/NUP214.Discussion: The most common clinical presentations were anemia, fever, hepatosplenomegaly, bone pain and bleeding. Genetic abnormalities determine the prognosis and adjust the treatment for patients.