Early T-cell precursor leukaemia: a subtype of very high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

About a fifth of children with acute T-lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) succumb to the disease, suggesting an unrecognised biological heterogeneity that might contribute to drug resistance. We postulated that T-ALL originating from early T-cell precursors (ETPs), a recently defined subset of thymocytes that retain stem-cell-like features, would respond poorly to lymphoid-cell-directed therapy. We studied leukaemic cells, collected at diagnosis, to identify cases with ETP features and determine their clinical outcome.

Methods

Leukaemic cells from 239 patients with T-ALL enrolled at St Jude Children's Research Hospital (n=139) and in the Italian national study Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica (AIEOP) ALL-2000 (n=100) were assessed by gene-express

SUBMITTER: Coustan-Smith E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2840241 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature