Trisomy 14 and leukemia

A total of 11 cases with trisomy 14 as the sole abnormality were found in the database of a large cytogenetic reference laboratory from 1993 to the present. Four of the 11 cases had an isochromosome 14q. In 8 cases, the trisomy 14 was a mosaic cell line. Eight cases were diagnosed with myelodysplasia, 2 cases had both myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative features similar to some atypical chronic myeloid leukemia cases, and 1 case had acute myeloid leukemia of M1 or M2 type. Nine were males and two females. The median age was 77 years. Referring physicians were contacted and clinical information was available in only 8 cases. Survival ranged from 1 month to approximately 3 years. An abnormal red cell morphology, such as elliptocytes or schistocytes or both, was observed in the majority of cases. This study along with the reported cases strengthens the hypothesis that trisomy 14 is a nonrandom cytogenetic abnormality associated with myeloid malignancy.