Immunologic Profile and Outcome of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in Morocco (original) (raw)

2007, Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology

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: TALL (37%) and BALL (63%), with a higher percentage of males (69%). Comparison of the clinical characteristics showed that the frequency of splenomegaly was similar in BALL and TALL patients (53% and 47%, respectively). Hepatomegaly and mediastinal masses were more often associated with TALL (62% and 71%, respectively). Splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and mediastinal masses were more frequent in immature than mature BALL , whereas the reverse was observed for TALL. Complete remission was obtained in 88% and 84% of BALL and TALL , respectively and relapse after 1 year occurred in 30% and 37% of cases, respectively. CD10 expressing BALL showed a slightly higher complete remission rate, whereas the reverse was observed for CD10 expressing TALL. The overall 5-year survival rate of ALL was 38%, whereas patients with BALL showed better survival than children with TALL .