Acute leukemia showing t(8;22)(p11;q11), myelodysplasia, CD13/CD33/CD19 expression and immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangement.

t(8;22)(p11;q11) is a rare but recurrent chromosome translocation that has been reported in 11 cases of myeloproliferative neoplasm or B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This translocation results in an in-frame fusion of FGFR1 on 8p11 and BCR on 22q11, and causes constitutive activation of the tyrosine kinase of the BCR/FGFR1 chimera protein. Here, we report the twelfth case of hematological tumor bearing t(8;22)(p11;q11). The bone marrow showed hypoplastic and tri-lineage dysplasia with 24.4% abnormal cells. The abnormal cells were not defined as myeloid or lymphoid morphologically, lacking a myeloperoxidase reaction. Flow cytometric analysis of the bone marrow cells revealed that the abnormal cells expressed CD13, CD33, CD34, and CD19, and that a fraction of the abnormal cells was positive for CD10. Southern blot analysis of the bone marrow cells showed rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene, a genetic hallmark of B-cell differentiation. Previously reported cases with t(8;22)(p11;q11) suggested an association between myeloid and B-lymphoid tumors, whereas other chromosome translocations involving FGFR1 on 8p11 showed a link between myeloid and T-lymphoid tumors. Our observation supports that t(8;22)(p11;q11) might define a dual myeloid and B-lymphoid disorder.