Direct association of socio-economic status with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children

Abstract Lymphoblasts from 186 consecutive untreated children z scores below −1.28. The observed frequencies were precursor-B (pre-B) CD10 positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (CD10 + ) 65%, pre-B CD10 negative (CD10 − ) 13%, and T-ALL 18%. The typical incidence peak at age 2–5 years was observed among the CD10 positive cases. Nutritional variables were not associated with immunophenotypes. Low monthly per capita income was associated with T-immunophenotype ( P =0.024). In conclusion, a direct association between unfavourable socio-economic status and the T-phenotype indicates a potential role of socio-economic factors on the genesis of ALL in children, thus confirming indirect data of the international literature.