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CD10 and CD34 expression in 86 Moroccan children with acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL) and the relevance to prognosis, diagnosis, and outcome during a 5-year follow-up were examined. At diagnosis, 57% of patients had CD10(+) blasts, while 35% had CD34(+) blasts. The CD10(+) blast frequency was much higher (80%) in B-ALL than in T-ALL (20%). The frequency of CD34(+) blasts was higher in B-ALL (48%) compared to T-ALL (16%). The 5-year survival curves showed that children with CD10(+) B-ALL had a significantly longer survival rate than those with CD10(-), as observed for T-ALL. The survival rate of B-ALL expressing CD34 was higher than that of CD34(-). Thus, CD34 and CD10 expression may have prognostic value and is associated with a better clinical outcome.

Immunophenotyping in leukemia offers a precise delineation of the hematopoietic lineage and differentiation stage of the malignant cell. In this study, we used flow cytometry to determine the frequency of the immunologic types of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Moroccan children. We analyzed 100 samples from ALL patients within an age ranging from 6 months to 16 years presented over a 4-year period (1996 to 2000). Immunophenotyping allowed classification into 2 major categories: T-ALL (37%) and B-ALL (63%), with a higher percentage of males (69%). Comparison of the clinical characteristics showed that the frequency of splenomegaly was similar in B-ALL and T-ALL patients (53% and 47%, respectively). Hepatomegaly and mediastinal masses were more often associated with T-ALL (62% and 71%, respectively). Splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and mediastinal masses were more frequent in immature than mature B-ALL, whereas the reverse was observed for T-ALL. Complete remission was obtained in 88% and 84% of B-ALL and T-ALL, respectively and relapse after 1 year occurred in 30% and 37% of cases, respectively. CD10 expressing B-ALL showed a slightly higher complete remission rate, whereas the reverse was observed for CD10 expressing T-ALL. The overall 5-year survival rate of ALL was 38%, whereas patients with B-ALL showed better survival than children with T-ALL.