Cytogenetic investigations in childhood chronic myelocytic leukemia

Cytogenetic studies were performed on 25 chronic myelogenous leukemia patients aged between 6 mo and 19 yr. Of these, 14 presented with the adult form and 11 with the juvenile form of the disease. In patients with the adult type, 12 of 14 had a Ph chromosome and additional anomalies appearing during blastic transformation. In patients with the juvenile form, 6 of 11 had a monosomy 7 and a short survival time (median 10 mo). Salient features of these patients, as well as a survey of the pertinent literature on the subject, are presented in this paper.