ABSTRACT
Chronic myeloid leukemia [CML] is a myeloproliferative disease. The cytogenetic hallmark of CML is Philadelphia [Ph] chromosome. This study aimed to diagnose suspected CML patients, to monitor CML patients under therapy using cytogenetic and fluorescence in situ hybridization [FISH] techniques to analyze their bone marrow [BM] and peripheral blood [PB] samples, and finally to compare their obtained results for both specimens. This study was conducted during one-year period [2012-2013]. The participants were recruited from the Hematology and Oncology Clinic of Shahid Gazi [Emam Reza] Hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, Iran. We analyzed 90 samples from 60 suspected CML patients [30 BM and 60 PB samples]. All samples were analyzed using G-banding, 5 samples using dual fusion FISH [DF-FISH] probes, as well as 30 samples using both FISH and G-banding. Among the 90 analyzed samples of 60 patients, 25 [41.66%] were Ph+ using karyotyping, whereas five cases were not analyzable, so FISH was applied and the results confirmed that only two individuals were BCR-ABL+. In the comparison between 25 BM and 25 PB samples using karyotyping, 15 [60%] and 10 [40%] were ph+, respectively. The comparison of FISH and karyotyping on 30 samples showed that 9 [30%] and 8 [26.66%] were Ph+, respectively, and only 18.18% of Ph+ patients showed atypical patterns. In the comparison between BM-cytogenetic and PB-interphase-FISH [I-FISH], BM-cytogenetic was more reliable than PB-I-FISH in detecting Ph. Our data demonstrate that FISH analysis is a rapid, reliable and sensitive technique. The comparison between BM and PB showed that PB can not be replaced by BM, even in detecting by FISH