AccScience Publishing / TD / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/td.2545
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Clinicohematological profile and immunophenotypic patterns of childhood acute leukemia: Prognostic correlation

Anju Khairwa1* Mrinalini Kotru1 Pooja Dewan2 Swati Jain1
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1 Departments of Pathology, University College of Medical Science and GTB Hospital, New Delhi, India
2 Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Science and GTB Hospital, New Delhi, India
Tumor Discovery 2024, 3(2), 2545 https://doi.org/10.36922/td.2545
Submitted: 26 December 2023 | Accepted: 28 February 2024 | Published: 27 June 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

Acute leukemia (AL) presents a heterogeneous molecular profile, requiring precise diagnostic categorization and subcategorization. The present study aims to estimate the clinicohematological profile and immunophenotypic pattern of childhood AL while conducting prognostic assessments. This cross-sectional study analyzed a total of 68 samples of AL collected from January 2019 to June 2021. The male-to-female ratio was 4.6:1, with a mean age of 6.6 ± 3.4 years. Total leukocyte count (TLC) was significantly increased in all types of AL (P = 0.03). The median value (interquartile range) of TLC (×106/dL) was 8,450 (4,100 – 27,950), with blast counts in peripheral smears at 59 (24 – 80), and in bone marrow aspirates (BMAs) at 95 (75 – 98). There was a significant association (P < 0.001) and a strong association (C = 0.9110) between the morphology of BMA with immunophenotype. Based on immunophenotype, AL was categorized into four groups: B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) (51.5%), T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) (10.3%), AML (22%), and mixed phenotype AL (MPAL) (16.2%). Furthermore, eight subgroups were identified: B lineage, Ia-Common-B-ALL (88.6%) and Ib-Pre-B-ALL (11.4%); T-lineage, IIa-Cortical T-ALL (71.4%) and IIb-Pre-T-ALL (28.6%); AML subgroups, IIIa-M2 (73.93%) and III-M4 (26.7%); and MPAL subgroups, IVa-aberrant expression of myeloid antigens in B-ALL (90.9%), and IVb-aberrant expression of lymphoid markers in AML (9.1%). A poor prognostic immunophenotype (T-ALL, AML) was significantly (P = 0.023) more prevalent in deceased patients with AL. The highest mortality rate was observed in AML (86.4%), followed by T-ALL (57.2%). The most common immunophenotype observed was Common-B-ALL in childhood AL, and a poor prognostic immunophenotype (T-ALL and AML) with the highest mortality rate was found in AML. Thus, knowledge about clinicohematological and immunophenotypic patterns will aid in patient management.

Keywords
Immunophenotype
Aberrant
Acute leukemia
Flow cytometry
Children
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
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Tumor Discovery, Electronic ISSN: 2810-9775 Print ISSN: 3060-8597, Published by AccScience Publishing