The aim of our study was to define if the type of primary chromosomal aberrations (CA) of the karyotype of patients with Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) determines the way and the rate of karyotype development. Conventional cytogenetic analysis was carried out on 248 AML and 105 MDS patients at diagnosis. Clonal evolution (CE) was found in 40 % (51 of 128) of AML patients and in 47,5 % (19 of 40) of MDS patients having CA in their karyotype. The first pattern we established was for the most frequent CA which initiate CE in 28 patients with a complex karyotype. These CA were non-balansed rearrangements in the following regions: 5q, 7q, 11q, 3q, monosomy 5, monosomy 7. The second pattern of CE was regarding the most frequent aneuploidias (+8, +11, +21, –Y), and the third pattern concerned balanced CA. We found significant difference in the distribution of karyotypes in different stages of progression between the first and the other two groups (р < 0,001). No statistical difference was found between the patterns in the second and the third group CA (р > 0,5).
Keywords: clonal evolution, karyotype, acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes
