Cytogenetic, clinical, and cytologic characteristics of radiotherapy-related leukemias.

From 1978 to 1985, we observed eight cases of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia or preleukemia, three cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and three cases of chronic myeloid leukemia in patients previously treated exclusively with radiotherapy for other tumor types. The latent period from administration of radiotherapy to development of leukemia varied between 12 and 243 months. Clonal chromosome aberrations reported previously as characteristic of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia following therapy with alkylating agents were observed in three of the eight patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (5q- and -7) and in two of the three patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (-7 and 12p-). All three patients with radiotherapy-related chronic myeloid leukemia presented a t(9;22)(q34;q11). The results suggest that cytogenetic characteristics may reflect the etiology in radiation-induced acute leukemias, whereas radiation-related chronic myeloid leukemia does not seem to differ chromosomally from de novo cases of the disease.