Palmar Dermatoglyphics, a Possible Screening Tool among Some Egyptian Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

2 Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract

Study of dermatoglyphics has a great importance in judicial and criminal researches. Nowadays its relation to some genetic diseases has an immense application. The patterns of dermatoglyphics have been studied in various congenital disorders like Down syndrome, Klinefelter’s syndrome and also in chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes mellitus etc.
The present study was carried out to demonstrate the association between acute lymphoblastic leukemia among children and palmar dermatoglyphics to assess the possibility of using this association as a screening tool for early prediction of leukemia. The study was conducted on 50 children suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia who attended at the Hematology and Oncology Unit, Pediatric Department, El-Shatby Hospital, Main Alexandria University Hospital. Matched healthy controls were selected within the same age group. The dermatoglyphic features (ab-ridge count, atd, tda and dat angles) were measured.
Results: The present study showed a significant relation between palmar dermatoglyphics and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The patients group had significantly lower atd, tad and ab-ridge with no significant difference as regards adt angle than control group as regards the right hand measurements. On the other hand the patients group had significantly lower atd, adt angles and ab-ridge count and significantly greater tad angle than the control group as regards the left hand measurements. The present study developed an equation for prediction of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children with an accuracy of 66.7%.
Conclusion: palmar dermatoglyphics can represent non-invasive anatomical marker of acute lymphoblastic leukemia risk facilitating its early detection among childre

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