PMID: 7018672Jul 1, 1981Paper

Clinical utility of initial terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase determinations in childhood acute leukemias

Cancer Research
D K KalwinskyF J Bollum

Abstract

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TDT) activity was measured in bone marrow lymphoblasts obtained at diagnosis from 168 consecutive patients with childhood acute leukemia. Absolute concentrations of TDT were increased (greater than or equal to 20 units/10(8) blasts) in samples from 98 of 112 assessable patients with acute lymphocyte leukemia (ALL). The values ranged from less than 1 to 1502 units/10(8) blasts with a median of 90 units contrasted with less than 1 to 219 units (median, 2.6 units) in studies of children without leukemia. Results of an immunofluorescence assay were in good agreement with enzymatic detection of the polymerase. Among 115 patients with adequate marrow smears, 105 had TDT-positive blasts. By contrast, in most children with acute myelogenous leukemia, TDT activity was either undetectable or less than 10 units/10(8) blasts. Although the highest levels of TDT were found in blasts with the common ALL phenotype, quantitative determinations were not significantly related to the major immunological subtypes of ALL or to morphological features or periodic acid-Schiff reactivity of the lymphoblasts. The probability that a newly diagnosed case of leukemia would be ALL was 90% if TDT levels were greater than...Continue Reading

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