title: Fluorescence in situ hybridization on peripheral-blood specimens is a reliable method to evaluate cytogenetic response in chronic myeloid leukemia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the usefulness of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on peripheral-blood specimens to evaluate the cytogenetic response to treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
  
  
  METHODS
  In a first attempt, we analyzed 62 bone marrow specimens using interphase FISH and compared the results with those of conventional cytogenetics. In a second step, we analyzed 60 paired sets of bone marrow and peripheral-blood specimens with interphase FISH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of interphase FISH agreed with conventional cytogenetics on bone marrow for most patients, and only minor differences were found (r =.98). The comparison of interphase FISH on bone marrow versus peripheral-blood specimens showed a strong correlation between these two specimen sources (r =.97).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results confirmed that FISH is a sensitive technique for the evaluation of response to treatment in patients with CML. Moreover, our study suggests that follow-up of cytogenetic response to therapy can be evaluated on peripheral-blood specimens, thus enabling an easier and more frequent evaluation of patients. The next step will be to evaluate this technique in a large prospective trial to define the prognostic value of complete remissions evaluated by FISH.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Hematology and Clinical Hematology Department, University Hospital, Nantes, France.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Le Gouill
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Talmant
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Milpied
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Daviet
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ancelot
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Harousseau
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bataille
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Avet-Loiseau
mesh_terms: D001773:Blood Cells / Q000166:cytology; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000166:cytology; D003582:Cytogenetics; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007399:Interphase; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014178:Translocation, Genetic; D016896:Treatment Outcome