People with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) are apt to have a complex karyotype that predicts poor prognosis, according to a study involving 97 individuals. This is especially true in patients with ≥5 cytogenetic aberrations.

Participants—all of whom had T-PLL—were a median of 63 years of age. Investigators looked at links between cytogenetic abnormalities and outcomes. Among the results:

• 27 patients had a normal karyotype, 1 had 2 chromosomal aberrations, and the remainder had a complex karyotype.
• Patients with complex karyotype had worse overall survival than those with normal karyotype.
• The most common aberrations in the complex group involved 14q and 8q.
• Overall survival was nearly 1 year in patients with ≥5 aberrations; it was almost 2 years in those with <5 aberrations.
• Fluorescence in situ hybridization for TCL1 resulted in rearrangement in 8/10 normal cases and 16/17 complex cases.
• Stem cell transplantation did not improve overall survival in any group.