title: Complete cytogenetic conversion in chronic myelocytic leukemia patients undergoing interferon alpha therapy: follow-up with reverse polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: Fifteen chronic myelocytic leukemia patients in durable complete cytogenetic conversion (CCC) under interferon therapy, were monitored every three to six months by bone marrow (BM) karyotypes and/or reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) on peripheral blood (PB) leukocytes (by a nested primer approach using two rounds of amplification, 30 cycles each). Special care was taken to minimize the risk of contamination. The median time of follow-up after first CCC was 12 months (range, 6-30). Thirty five BM karyotypes were performed. Only three patients demonstrated the transient reappearance of a few Philadelphia-positive metaphases, while other patients remained in CCC. Forty five PB samples were studied by RT-PCR. In two patients, no BCR/ABL transcript could be detected in three consecutive samples. In the 13 other cases, RT-PCR was intermittently negative, indicating a level of residual leukemic cells close to the threshold of sensitivity of the technique.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Hématologie, Université de Bordeaux II, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bilhou-Nabera
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Viard
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marit
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gharbi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Salzes
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reiffers
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Broustet
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bernard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010677:Philadelphia Chromosome; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012074:Remission Induction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl