Chromosomal Evidence for the Secondary Role of Fibroblastic Proliferation in Acute Myelofibrosis

Abstract A 22-year-old white woman with acute myelofibrosis and agnogenic myeloid metaplasia is reported. She was found to have a consistent chromosomal aberration in her myeloblasts, interpreted as a 1-3 translocation. Bone marrow fibroblasts were successfully cultured, yielding a normal karyotype. The lymphocyte karyotype in this patient was also normal. It is proposed that these findings favor a secondary role of the fibroblastic proliferation in myelofibrosis and suggest that the primary cellular disturbance resides only in the hematopoietic cell lines.