Jumping translocations of 1q in a child with t(2;8) acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

Jumping translocation (JT) is an unusual type of chromosomal rearrangement whereby the same chromosome segment (donor) is translocated onto other chromosomes usually resulting in different unbalanced karyotypes. JT is rarely reported in haematological malignancies and may represent a poor prognostic factor. We report a case of a 4-year-old boy with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) - L3 subtype whose bone marrow cells had seven cytogenetically abnormal but related subclones, with various unbalanced translocations resulting in trisomies for different segments of the long arm of chromosome 1. The only consistent abnormality present in all the subclones was t(2;8) (p 12;924), a translocation associated with ALL-L3. Our case is the first report of a JT involving 4 breakpoints on 19 in a t(2;8)-positive ALL with Yq as one of the recipient chromosomes.