Bone marrow films from 20 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 40 patients with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) were investigated using Ag-NOR staining. The control group comprised 12 donors. The activity of nucleolar organizer regions (NOR) in the whole population of megakaryocytes (MK) and in groups of MK with 1-3, 4-6, 7 and more lobules per nucleus was assessed. The division into groups made it possible to judge about NOR activity in MK with different ploidy. The MK with both high ploidy and high NOR activity in residual megakaryocytopoiesis in patients with ALL are associated with good response to chemotherapy and complete remission, whereas these with low ploidy and low NOR activity suggest poor prognosis. In patients with ANLL no stable correlation between NOR activity and prognosis was found.
Case-Control Studies Humans