Background: Monosomy 7 (-7) or deletion in its long arm [del(7q)] is among the most common chromosomal abnormalities in myeloid malignancies. There are prognostic variations between -7 and del(7q) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
Aim: To describe the clinical characteristics, response to treatment, and survival of patients with primary AML and MDS having -7 or del(7q) detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).
Patients and methods: The study was conducted on 53 patients with primary AML and MDS. They were tested for chromosome 7 abnormality using FISH technique.
Results: Thirty-one patients had chromosome 7 abnormality and 22 did not. Lower complete remission and higher death rates were observed in patients with -7 (47.6% and 62%, respectively) when compared to patients with del(7q) (70% and 40%, respectively) with no significant difference (p = 0.218 and 0.101, respectively). The median overall survival (OS) of patients with -7, del(7q) and normal chromosome 7 were 32.0, 43.0 and 50.0 months, respectively, with significant statistical difference (p = 0.001). This difference was evident between patients with -7 and those with normal chromosome 7 (p = 0.001), and less evident between patients with -7 and those with del(7q) (p = 0.021).
Conclusion: Chromosome 7 analysis has clear impact on the outcome of myeloid malignancies. The prognostic variations between -7 and del(7q) is attributed to multiple factors. Cases with del(7q) have better outcome than cases with -7. FISH provides a powerful tool for detecting and monitoring patients with chromosome 7 abnormalities.
Keywords: Chromosome 7; FISH; Monosomy 7; Myeloid malignancies; del(7q).
Copyright © 2018 National Cancer Institute, Cairo University. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.