Clinical And Laboratory Studies Of Childhood Acute Leukemia

Part I Sequential determinations of telomerase activity of bone marrow cells in childhood acute leukemia Objective: To investigate the changes of telomerase activity of bone marrow cells from differential treatment stages of childhood acute leukemia and its clinical significance. Methods: Telomerase activity of bone marrow cell of children with acute leukemia was determined by telomere repeat amplification protocol(TRAP) silver stain technique. Results: Telomerase activity was detected in 12/14(92.3%) acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL) and in 8/8(100%) acute myelogenous leukemia(AML) before chemotherapy and in 33.3% (4/12) ALL and 33.3%(2/6) AML at complete remission, respectively. Positive of telomerase in patients in continuous complete remission over 12 months are rare. Persistent positive of telomerase or turning positive at the various follow-up times was associated with high relapse probability. Conclusion: Telomerase activity is associated with biological characteristics and tumor burden of acute leukemia. Detection of telomerase at any point in the treatment course is a powerful predictor of relapse in children with acute leukemia.