Co-existence of alternative forms of 8q gain in cytogenetic clones of three patients with acute myeloid leukemia, pointing to 8q22 similar to 8qter as a region of biologic significance

Clonal trisomy 8 chromosome abnormalities can be detected in 15% of patient s with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The most common form of change is comp lete gain of the whole chromosome 8, followed by partial gains in unbalance d forms. The biologic consequences of trisomy X remain unclear, but a gene dosage effect is suspected. We report on three patients with AML who had al ternative forms of chromosome 8 gain in their bone marrow cells. The partia l gains resulted from a breakpoint in the chromosome band 8q22. This indica tes that the region 8q22 to 8qter may be of particular pathogenetic importa nce. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ins. Ail rights reserved.