You have a new 7-year-old female patient with a WBC count of 6,000/mm3, hemoglobin of 7.2 g/dL, and platelet count of 30,000/mm3. A bone marrow aspirate reveals 14% blasts with a monocytic morphologic appearance that are surface marker positive for CD33. You receive a call from the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) lab that the bone marrow is positive for KMT2A rearrangement in 68% of cells. Your staff asks whether this represents a diagnosis of acute leukemia in the current classification scheme for this type of hematologic malignancy. What would you say?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The correct answer is D: Yes, because the FISH is positive for KMT2A rearrangement.
Rationale:
1. KMT2A rearrangement is a genetic abnormality commonly associated with acute leukemia.
2. Presence of blasts (14%) with monocytic appearance and positive for CD33 also supports the diagnosis.
3. The percentage of blasts (14%) is not below the threshold for acute leukemia diagnosis.
4. The specific cytogenetic findings mentioned in choice C are not absolute requirements for diagnosing acute leukemia.
In summary, the presence of KMT2A rearrangement, along with morphologic and flow cytometry findings, supports the diagnosis of acute leukemia in this case, making choice D the correct answer.