Hodgkin's disease and acute leukaemia. A clinical and cytogenetic study.

Three patients developing acute myeloid leukaemia after treatment for Hodgkin's disease are reported. They appeared among 153 patients treated since 1971. All three patients were treated with high-voltage radiation of large target volumes as well as multiple-drug chemotherapy. In two of the patients chromosomal analyses of the leukaemic bone marrow cells were performed by modern banding technique. Chromosome abnormalities were found in both patients. The value of cytogenetic analysis with the new staining techniques for elucidating the mechanism of leukaemogenesis in Hodgkin's disease is discussed.