Background: Hematogones are normal B-cell precursor which can be seen in different physiological and pathological conditions. Due to variation in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) blasts immunophenotyping and interference of hematogones in minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment, precise discrimination of hematogones is very crucial.  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ex...

Patients suffering from adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia are acutely ill and present most commonly with fever, pallor, bleeding, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly and presence of lymphoblasts in the peripheral blood and bone marrow. We describe a rare presentation of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in a young adult male who had vague and minimal symptoms with mild splenomegaly. There was seve...

Background: 6-Mercaptopurine (6-MP), a widely used anti-metabolite for the maintenance phase of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), has been observed to cause myelotoxicity due genetic polymorphism thiopurine methyl transferase (TPMT), one drug-metabolizing enzymes. This study aimed determine frequency S-methyl (TPMT) polymorphic variants in group Pakistani children with (ALL) using 6...

A balance between survival and apoptotic signals regulates B cell development. These signals are tightly regulated by a host of molecules, including IL-7. Abnormal signaling events may lead to neoplastic transformation of progenitor B cells. Signal transduction inhibitors potentially may modulate these abnormal signals. Inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) such as rapamycin ha...

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) comprise a group of heterogeneous clonal hematopoietic cell disorders characterized by cytopenias, bone marrow hypercellularity, and increased risk of transformation to acute leukemias. MDS usually transformed to acute myeloid leukemia, and transformation to acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is rare. Herein, we report a unique patient who presented with MDS with...

We treated three children with relapsed or refractory CD20 positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia with rituximab in combination with chemotherapy, which produced a decreasing or persistent low positive minimal residual disease load. Two children subsequently underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation and remain in complete remission at days +399 and +332.

INTRODUCTION Minimal residual disease is an important independent prognostic factor that can identify poor responders among patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze minimal residual disease using immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements by conventional polymerase chain reaction followed by homo-heteroduplex analysis an...