Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia with t(7;11)(p15;p15) and NUP98/HOXA9 Fusion

Translocation (7;11)(p15;p15) is a recently characterized chromosomal abnormality that results in fusion of the NUP98 gene on 11p15 and the HOXA9 gene on 7p15. It shows a strong racial predisposition, being found predominantly in Oriental patients, and has been reported almost exclusively in acute myeloid leukemia, often with associated myelodysplastic changes. In this report, we describe the unique occurrence of t(7;11)(p15;p15) and NUP98/HOXA9 fusion in a patient with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and suggest that the genetic lesion may involve multipotential myeloid stem cells.