17P ANOMALIES IN LYMPHOID MALIGNANCIES - DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC IMPLICATIONS

Eighteen patients with lymphoid malignancies and abnormalities of the short arm of chromosome 17 were evaluated, in order to analyse whether this anomaly was associated with a particular subgroup of lymphoid ma lignancies. The patients suffered from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, h igh-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or plasma cell leukemia. No 17p anoma ly was found in any patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or low-g rade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In four cases the aberration of the short arm of chromosome 17 was the sole cytogenetic abnormality, in fourtee n patients additional chromosomal aberrations were found. Five out of 18 cases were Burkitt's lymphoma/leukemia showing the typical rearrang ement of 8q24. In cases with a karyotype evolution the 17p anomaly was always a late event. Concerning the clinical outcome of the patients with abnormalities of the short arm of chromosome 17 eight of nineteen patients died within 90 days after the diagnosis of the 17p anomaly o nly three were alive at the last follow up (26 months to 40 months aft er diagnosis of a 17p aberration). Rearrangements of 17p, especially a s secondary cytogenetic events, seem to be associated with a poor clin ical outcome in lymphoid malignancies.