[Characteristics of clonal evolution in patients with myelocytic leukemia]

The authors report the results of the clinical, cytochemical, cytogenetic and kinetic studies (3H-thymidine autoradiography and scanning integrating cytospectrophotometry of DNA) in a male patient with chronic myeloleukemia with blast infiltration of the lymph nodes. Analysis of the karyotype and kinetic aspects of leukemic cells obtained from the blood, bone marrow, spleen and hyperplastic lymph nodes was performed over time at different disease periods. Based on the data obtained the authors suggest that aneuploid blasts may maturate before segmented granulocytes. The probability of the medullary origin of aneuploid clones is discussed.