CONGENITAL LEUKEMIA - REPORT OF 2 CASES

Congenital leukemia is a rare disease in which a leukemic process is p resent at birth or immediately thereafter. The majority of cases prese nted in the literature were reported prior to the availability of cont emporary immunophenotyping methods, and lineage assignment was often m ade on the basis of morphology alone. Congenital leukemias may be of v arious lineages, although, historically, monocytic and myelomonocytic congenital leukemias appear to be the most prevalent. We present two c ases of congenital leukemia with detailed immunophenotypic and cytoche mical characterization. One case is of the lymphoid lineage, and the s econd is of myelomonocytic lineage. Neither patient displayed trisomy 21. (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.