Correlations between nuclear morphology and bundles of cytoplasmic fibrils in 50 cases of acute myeloid leukaemia.

An electron microscopic examination was carried out of peripheral blood or bone marrow samples, or both, from 50 patients entered into the Medical Research Council 9th Acute Myeloid Leukaemia Trial. The results showed a striking correlation between the presence of conspicuous bundles of fibrils within the cytoplasm of the leukaemic cells and the degree of convolution or lobulation of the nuclei. In none of the samples were predominantly convoluted or lobed nuclei observed in the absence of prominent fibrillar bundles and in only two cases were nuclei of a more regular outline seen in association with many conspicuous bundles of cytoplasmic fibrils. No correlation was found between the apparent degree of maturity of the nuclei, as assessed by the degree of chromatin condensation, and the absence or abundance of fibrillar bundles.