Abstract
The acute lymphoid leukemias (ALL) are widely associated with chromosomal abnormalities and recurrent genetic mutations. A recent study describes the occurrence of mutations in exon 6 of the IL-7 receptor (IL7Ra) alpha chain gene in 9% of the T phenotype ALL (ALL-T). In most cases (80%), IL7Ra mutations resulted in insertion of a cysteine in the extracellular portion juxtaposed to the tra…