Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21) (q22;q22) shares many features with de novo acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21)(q22;q22) but does not have a favorable outcome.

To determine if therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) with t(8;21)(q22;q22) [t-AML-t(8;21)] harbors similar characteristic clinicopathologic features as de novo AML-t(8;21) (q22;q22), we studied 13 cases of t-AML-t(8;21) and 38 adult cases of de novo AML-t(8;21) diagnosed and treated at our hospital (1995-2008). Of 13 t-AML-t(8;21) cases, 11 had previously received chemotherapy with or without radiation for malignant neoplasms and 2 received radiation alone. The median latency to t-AML onset was 37 months (range, 11-126 months). Compared with patients with de novo AML-t(8;21), patients with t-AML-t(8;21) were older (P = .001) and had a lower WBC count (P = .039), substantial morphologic dysplasia, and comparable CD19/CD56 expression. The AML1-ETO (RUNX1-RUNX1T1) fusion was demonstrated in all 10 cases assessed. Class I mutations analyzed included FLT3 (0/10 [0%]), RAS (0/10 [0%]), JAK2 V617 (0/11 [0%]), and KIT (4/11 [36%]). With a median follow-up of 13 months, 10 patients with t-AML-t(8;21) died; the overall survival was significantly inferior to that of patients with de novo AML-t(8;21) (19 months vs not reached; P = .002). These findings suggest that t-AML-t(8;21) shares many features with de novo AML-t(8;21)(q22;q22), but affected patients have a worse outcome.