Objective: To explore the cytogenetic characteristics of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients.

Methods: The karyotype analysis was performed in 178 AML using the short-term culture of bone marrow cell and G-banding technique.

Results: Among the 178 patients, 171 had enough metaphases for analysis and 128 (74.9%) had clonal karyotypic abnormalities. Twenty-seven patients were secondary to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS-AML), with 25 (92.6%) patients carrying clonal karyotypic abnormalities. Among the remaining 144 patients of de novo AML, 103 (71.5%) had clonal karyotypic abnormalities. The rate of abnormal clonal karyotype was higher in MDS-AML than that of de novo AML (P = 0.021). Among the 171 patients, 41 (24.0%) were in favorable risk group, 80(46.8%) in intermediate risk group and 50 (29.2%) in adverse risk group. t(15;17) was the most common chromosomal aberration. The majority intermediate risk chromosomal aberration was normal karyotype. The most common cytogenetic abnormality among adverse group was a complex karyotype. Adverse cytogenetic aberrations, such as -5/5q-, -7/7q-, frequently occurred in conjunction with one another as part of a complex karyotype. Totally 75 patients were 60 years or older, among them, 16.0% were in favorable risk group, 48.0% in intermediate risk group and 36.0% in adverse risk group. Among 96 younger patients, 30.2% were in favorable risk group, 45.8% in intermediate risk group and 24.0% in adverse risk group. The rate of favorable risk chromosomal aberration was lower in elder patients than in younger (P = 0.031). The rate of adverse risk chromosomal aberration and the rate of monosomal karyotype were higher in MDS-AML than in de novo AML patients (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: The most common favorable, intermediate and adverse chromosomal aberrations were t(15;17), normal karyotype and complex karyotype respectively. The karyotype was poor in MDS-AML and elder AML patients.