X;6 translocation in a child with congenital acute lymphocytic leukemia.

A case of congenital acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) displayed an X;6 translocation. This is the third reported case of ALL with an X;6 translocation. In addition, two of the three ALL cases occurred during infancy, at ages 2 months and newborn, and both translocations involved the band q15-16 region of chromosome 6. Anomalies of the long arm of chromosome 6, mainly interstitial and terminal deletions, have been reported as a recurrent karyotypic event in a significant number of ALL cases. The molecular basis and propensity of an X;6 rearrangement in this case of congenital ALL is unclear and merits further investigation. The similarities in this case and the other infant ALL case cited suggest that an X;6 rearrangement with a breakpoint in bands q15-16 of chromosome 6 is characteristic of a form of congenital ALL.