Familial B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia: analysis of cytogenetic abnormalities, immunophenotypic profiles, and immunoglobulin heavy chain gene usage.

B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL) is a heterogeneous disease that may exhibit familial clustering. We examined the cytogenetic, immunophenotypic, and VH gene usage characteristics of a family with B-CLL affecting 7 members in 3 generations. Interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization studies identified an acquired deletion of chromosome 13q14 in the leukemic cells of 6 affected members, accompanied by deletion 14q32 or trisomy 12 in 2 cases.

Phenotypic heterogeneity in multiple myeloma families.

Purpose: To describe a series of families with familial multiple myeloma (MM). Observations were used to generate hypotheses about the role of genetic factors, the mode of inheritance of these factors, and the association of other cancers with familial MM.

Patients And Methods: This observational study consisted of 39 families with multiple cases of MM or related disorders from four collaborating research centers.

Hereditary chronic lymphocytic leukemia: an extended family study and literature review.

Leukemia is manifested in about 1-2% of people in Western industrialized nations. The most common form of leukemia is B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), which accounts for approximately 30% of all cases. While CLL's etiology remains elusive, there is increasing evidence that substantially supports the role of hereditary factors in a subset of cases of this disease.

Family with acute myelocytic leukemia, breast, ovarian, and gastrointestinal cancer.

We report a multigeneration family in which hematologic cancers, particularly acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), and solid tumors were interspersed in cancer-prone lineages consistent with an autosomal dominant mode of genetic transmission. This combination of AML and solid tumors, in the absence of a known hereditary disorder such as the Li-Fraumeni syndrome, appears to be unique. This pedigree appears to support our hypothesis of a genetic susceptibility to both solid tumors and hematologic cancer in this kindred.