Secondary Chromosomal Abnormalities Predict Outcome in Pediatric and Adult High-stage Burkitt Lymphoma

Background: Karyotypic abnormalities in sporadic Burkitt lymphoma (BL) have been described extensively. However, to the authors' knowledge, very limited studies have focused on the secondary chromosomal abnormalities in pediatric BL as compared with those of adult BL and on their prognostic impact.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed in all pediatric and adult patients at 2 institutions, with a morphologic diagnosis of BL, pretherapy tumor karyotype available, and t(8;14), t(8;22), or t(2;8) present.

Results: There were 33 children and 37 adults. The majority of the patients (95%) had Stage III/IV disease. There were no statistically significant differences noted in karyotype complexity and the nature of the chromosomal abnormalities between these 2 groups. Abnormalities of chromosomes 13 (13q) and 22 (22q) had a negative impact on prognosis in children. In adults, abnormalities of chromosome 17 appeared to have a negative impact.

Conclusions: The current findings suggest that karyotypic information can be used for refining risk stratification in patients with BL.