Abscence of chromosomes abnormalities and acute leukemia : relationships with normal bone marrow cells

The absence of chromosome abnormalities in 50% of human acute leukemias stress the significance of cytogenetic abnormalities in malignancies. Karyotypically normal cells from acute leukemias were shown to be non leukemic cells by cytological and cytogenetic comparisons. Chromosomally normal acute promyelocytic leukemias could be explained by differences between proliferation rates of bone marrow cells and by bias when choosing metaphases to be analysed. The role of chromosomal abnormalities in acute leukemia must be therefore questioned from a new definition of cytogenetic methods.