Detection of molecular variants of BCR-ABL gene in bone marrow and blood of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

ABSTRACT

Very limited data exists in Thailand regarding the frequency of BCR-ABL leukemic gene and its prognostic implication in Thai CML patients. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid molecular assay for the detection of the two most commonly reported variants of BCR-ABL fusion gene, B2A2 and B3A2 in CML patients. Bone marrow or peripheral blood were used for RNA extraction and reverse-transcribed to cDNA for PCR amplification. 92 per cent of CML patients (91/99) were positive for BCR-ABL gene (61% B3A2 and 31% B2A2). 8/99 CML patients were BCR-ABL-negative. B3A2 and B2A2-positive patients did not have any different clinical and hematological features at presentation although B3A2 patients tended to be slightly older and had higher platelet counts. 71/71 non-CML including other MPD and leukemia cases were all negative for BCR-ABL gene. In conclusion, a rapid RT-PCR assay has now been developed for the detection of this hallmark gene in CML patients. It should be of great value in the differential diagnosis of CML from other diseases. Long-term follow-ups of CML patients with different variants are needed to determine the prognostic importance of each gene variant.