title: Fast PCR-based quantitative detection of B-cell malignancies.
abstract: Available methods for the detection of minimal residual disease in hematologic malignancies are limited by their poor sensitivity and/or complexity. In order to avoid these drawbacks, we used the fast PCR technique to amplify the hypervariable chain-determining region 3 (CDR 3) of the human immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene in boiled marrow nucleated cells. This enabled us to detect malignant B-cells down to a dilution of 1 in 1,300 marrow nucleated cells within 7 hours of sampling. This new quantitative method should be useful for monitoring therapy and detecting early disease relapse in B-lymphoproliferative disease since it is 10 to 60 times as sensitive as Southern blotting.
authors.affiliation: Virology Department, Brugmann University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vandenvelde
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scheen
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fondu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van Beers
mesh_terms: D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D001483:Base Sequence; D006801:Humans; D015448:Leukemia, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000175:diagnosis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013997:Time Factors