Trisomy 15 as the sole abnormality in myelodysplastic syndromes: case report and review of the literature.

Trisomy 15 as the sole autosomal anomaly is uncommon in hematological malignancies but could be preferentially associated with myelodysplasia. We report a 61-year-old man who developed pancytopenia following two courses of chemotherapy for chronic lymphoid leukemia. Cytogenetic studies at diagnosis of pancytopenia with R banding showed a 47,XY, + 15[3]/45,X[3]/46,XY[14] karyotype. A review of the 53 cases of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloid related disorders associated with trisomy 15 reported in the literature showed that 18 of the 31 men also lost the Y chromosome in the trisomic 15 cell line. Their mean age was significantly higher than that of males who had not lost the Y chromosome (p < 0.05). The main feature of the patient reported here is the presence of two abnormal cell lines, one having lost the Y chromosome, the other having gained a chromosome 15. Therefore, the two events occurred independently, the loss of the Y chromosome being possibly due to aging and the trisomy 15 to the hematologic disorder.