Prognostic implications of chromosome analysis in acute non-lymphocytic leukemia

The chromosome banding pattern was determined in a series of 30 untreated adult patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia. A significant correlation was found between survival time and the presence of chromosomal abnormality in the bone marrow at the time of diagnosis. The median survival time from diagnosis to death was 8.0 months for patients with only normal metaphases, 2.5 months for patients with a mixture of normal and abnormal cells, and 1.0 months for patients with abnormal metaphases only. Although the 3 groups of patients showed a wide range of survival time, the results indicate that karyotype analysis by means of modern cytogenetic techniques is an important prognostic indicator in acute leukemia. It is suggested that in patients with abnormal bone marrow cells the disease has reached a more advanced stage than in those with exclusively normal diploid cells.