State of chromosome 11q23 in T-ALL/LBL and their relation to prognosis

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mixed lineage leukemia gene (MLL, located on chromosome 11q23) expression in T acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL)/lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) and its relationship to prognosis. Fifty cases of T-ALL/LBL with clinical data were selected from the Shanxi Cancer Hospital in China. The immunohistochemical EnVision method was used for the expression of CD3, CD7, CD10, CD20, CD23, CD43, CD45RO, CD99, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, myeloperoxidase and ki67. Fluorescent in situ hybridization for MLL gene expression was performed on paraffin-embedded tissue. Among the 50 cases of T-ALL/LBL, the percentages of tumor cells expressing terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, CD99, CD3, CD7, CD10, CD43, and CD45RO were 92.0%, 96.0%, 72.0%, 92.0%, 34%, 60.0%, and 40.0%, respectively, whereas myeloperoxidase, CD20, and CD23 were all negative. A level of Ki67 expression >80% was found in 18 cases and ≤80% in 32 cases. The period of follow-up ranged from 1 to 108 months. The overall survival rate was 35.8%, with a median survival time of 330 days. Breakage of 11q23 was detected in 8 (16.00%) and amplification in 14 (28.00%) of the 50 cases. The rate of amplification in stage III-IV was higher than that in stage I-II (P<0.05). The prognosis in the 11q23 breakage group was worse than that in the nonbreakage group (P<0.05). The prognosis in the 11q23 amplification group was also worse than that in the nonamplification group (P<0.05). MLL gene rearrangement is a new subgroup concerned with prognosis in T-ALL/LBL. Both breakage and amplification of 11q23 in T-ALL/LBL might play important roles in the development and progression of T-ALL/LBL.