Hypo-triploid acute myeloid leukemia with isochromosome 11q

A 78-year-old male developed acute myeloid leukemia (AML, M2) with an isochromosome 11q (i(11q)) in hypo-triploid populations. He died 2 months later from the leukemia without having responded to chemotherapy. We reviewed 12 cases in the literature with i(11q) in hematopoietic neoplasms and found that the i(11q) is associated with complex chromosome abnormalities and with elderly patients. Ten out of the 13 patients had an AML phenotype, and they had poor response to chemotherapy and a short survival. The i(11q) may be a non-random chromosome aberration in hematopoietic neoplasms.