Hematopathology 1 Flashcards
How are hematopoietic malignancies classified?
acute (presence of blasts - very immature cells)
chronic (presence of differentiated, mature cells)
What 2 cell types are involved in hematopoietic malignancies?
lymphoid
myeloid
What characterizes leukemias?
malignant neoplasms of hematopoietic cells that replace bone marrow
True or false: leukemic cells usually spill over into peripheral blood
TRUE
What differentiates a leukemia from lymphoma?
leukemia = present with widespread involvement of bone marrow and blood
lymphoma = describes proliferation arising as discrete tissue masses
What 3 blood metrics are common in ALL and AML?
anemia
neutropenia
thrombocytopenia
What are some clinical features of acute leukemias?
- abrupt stormy onset
- depression of normal marrow function (fatigue (anemia) fever (neutropenia) bleeding (thrombocytopenia))
80% of acute leukemias of in children are _____
ALLs
acute lymphoblastic leukemia
When is the peak incidence for ALL in kids?
4 years (but most under 15 years)
What kind of cells are neoplastic in ALL?
lymphoblasts (precursor B or T lymphocytes)
What are the majority of ALL neoplastic cells?
pre-B cell neoplasms
What is the main population at risk for T-ALL?
adolescent males
What are microscopic tools to diagnose ALL?
lymphoblasts show scant basophilic cytoplasm and fine nuclear chromatin
What are the markers used to diagnose ALL?
Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)
CD19, 20, 21 (B cells)
CD1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 (T cells)
TdT is diagnostic for which blood cancer?
acute lymphoblastic leukemia
True or false: 90% of ALL patients have numerical or structural changes in chromosome of leukemic cells correlating with immunophenotype and prognosis
TRUE
What are the 4 chromosomal changes found in ALL?
1) hyperdiploidy (>50 chromosomes)
2) TEL1-AML1 (t(12;21))
3) BCR-ABL (t(9;22))
4) AF4-MLL (t(4;11))
What are 3 favorable prognostic indicators in ALL?
1) age 2-10
2) hyperdiploidy
3) t(12;21) TEL1-AML1
What are 3 UNfavorable prognostic indicators of ALL?
1) age under 2
2) adolescent or adult
3) presence of t(9,22) PHILADELPHIA chromosome
What is the philadelphia chromosome?
BCR-ABL t(9;22)
first genetic link to cancer
What is acute myeloid leukemia?
a disease of adults peaking after 60 years (only 20% of childhood leukemias)
What are the neoplastic cells in AML?
heterogenous disease (reflects the complexities of myeloid cell differentiation)
What AML associated genetic abnormality has the worst prognosis?
MLL t(11q23;v)
What are 4 WHO classifications of AML?
1) AML with recurrent genetic abnormalities
2) AML arising from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
3) therapy related
4) not otherwise specified)
GENERALLY ARISE FROM MDS