Chromosomes and causation of human cancer and leukemia. LI. A hairy cell leukemia case with 14q+ and ring chromosomes: significance of ring chromosomes in blood disorders.

What appears to be the first hairy cell leukemia case with a 14q+ anomaly is described. In addition to the 14q+ anomaly, a 6q- and a ring chromosome were seen in a blood sample stimulated with lipopolysaccharide, a B-cell mitogen. The clinical course of the present case was short, stormy, and had a poor response to therapy. The correlation between the clinical course and the presence of a ring chromosome in myelo- and lymphoproliferative blood disorders is discussed in relation to the various blood disorders with this karyotype anomaly described in the literature.