(11; 14) translocation in three boys with acute lymphoblastic leukemia of T-cell immunophenotype

Three boys, 12, 15 and 5 years old are presented with acute lymphoblastic leukemia resp. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with leukemic transformation. Blast cells could be characterized as being of T-cell origin. Hand mirror variant was the predominant morphologic feature of the blast cells in two patients. Chromosome analysis of the leukemic blast cells revealed a pseudodiploid (modal chromosome number = 46) karyotype in two patients and a pseudotetraploid (modal chromosome number = 92) in one patient. A chromosome translocation (11; 14) with breakpoints at (p 13; q 13) (within the human T-cell receptor alpha chain locus!) was found in the leukemic cells of all three cases plus an additional t (7; 9) (q 22; p 13) in one patient.