A case of an unusual lineage switch in late relapse ALL—is it actually a secondary leukemia?

Journal of Hematopathology(2019)

Cited 1|Views12
No score
Abstract
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignant disease of lymphoid precursors. According to immunophenotype, it is further subdivided into precursor B cell ALL and precursor T cell ALL, with precursor B cell ALL being much more common both in children and adults. Lineage switch from one lymphoid lineage to another during the course of the disease is extremely rarely reported. Here, we describe a case of a child who initially presented as a precursor B-ALL but 15 years later and after two successfully treated relapses of the original ALL presented with early T cell precursor leukemia. Although it was considered as a relapse, it could be interpreted as a case of secondary leukemia, which can be explained as a consequence of treatment as well as a constitutional feature of an individual. Also, it draws attention to the possibility that hematopoietic cells, and in that context also leukemic cells, are much more plastic and capable of reprogramming than previously thought.
More
Translated text
Key words
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia,Secondary leukemia,Lineage switch
AI Read Science
Must-Reading Tree
Example
Generate MRT to find the research sequence of this paper
Chat Paper
Summary is being generated by the instructions you defined