Acute leukemias of childhood: pathologic features

Major advances have been made in the diagnosis and therapy of childhood leukemia over the last two decades (Zuelzer and Flatz, 1960; Miller, 1980; Steinhorn and Myers, 1981; Kobrinsky et al., 1980). Sophisticated phenotypic analysis of these leukemias has partially revealed their complexity; there are at least three to five distinct clinical pathological entities in the childhood leukemia groups. Improved therapy has resulted in marked increases in survival and cures. Less attention has been given to the pathology of childhood leukemia, although the frequency and complexity of tissue examinations have greatly increased. In particular, the pathologic manifestation of relapses, detection of focal leukemia after treatment and the pathology of complications have not been systematically reviewed. Our goal was to look at all of the pathologic manifestations of leukemia and to relate these manifestations to homogeneous patient populations grouped by their type of leukemia. Therefore all of the cytologic, hematologic, histopathologic, ultrastructural and immunologic materials on a consecutive group of leukemic children seen at Vanderbilt from 1970 to 1981 were reviewed; pathologic manifestations of leukemia were then analysed in relationship to diagnostic categories.