We describe eight patients (four children and four adults) with an acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with cytoplasmic granules or inclusions. The incidence of this variant of acute leukaemia in our whole series of patients with ALL is 1.8%. The granules or inclusions were usually positive for aspecific esterases (ANAE) and/or acid phosphatase, and the immunophenotype was in all cases typical of a CALLA positive B-lineage ALL (CD10+, CD19+ and/or CD24+, DR+, TdT+, anti-T-, anti-My-, SIg-). In one paediatric case, CD33 was unusually coexpressed. Ultrastructural investigations were performed in one case and demonstrated large granules containing vesicles, usually membrane bound, in the majority of blast cells. In the two cases analysed, Ig heavy chain gene rearrangement was detected. In this series of patients prognosis was poor since three never achieved a complete remission, four relapsed and only one is still in first continuous remission.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.