[Immunological membrane markers in blasts and lymphocytes of patients with acute leukemia]

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia can be subdivided into groups with different prognoses and clinical courses by immunological cell-markers. Patients with blasts, expressing T-cell-markers in a high density (T-cell leukemia), had an increased incidence of meningeal relapses, tumor formation in abdomen or mediastinum. T-lymphoblastic lymphoma is the same disease only different in initial presentation. After combination chemotherapy over one year, lymphocytes populations with no immunological cell-markers are relatively increased. Regular monitoring of the immunological subgroups of lymphocytes seems to be unhelpful in early diagnosis of periods with increased risk of severe infections.