Comparison of a multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for BCR-ABL to fluorescence in situ hybridization, Southern blotting, and conventional cytogenetics in the monitoring of patients with Ph1-positive leukemias.
A multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay for both major forms of BCR-ABL was compared with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), karyotyping, and Southern blotting for disease monitoring in 37 follow-up bone marrow samples from 32 patients with Ph1-positive leukemia. Of these 37 samples, 33 were from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) (26 post allogeneic bone marrow transplantation [AlloBMT] and seven during interferon-alpha therapy) and 4 from Ph1-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients (1 post AlloBMT and 3 post high dose chemotherapy). For the 27 samples studied after AlloBMT (26 CML and 1 Ph1-positive ALL) the time after transplantation ranged from 1 to 107 months (median 47.5 months). In 8 (22%) of the 37 samples there were discrepant results among methods. The discrepancy rates relative to other techniques were: karyotyping 17% (5 of 29), Southern blotting 18% (6 of 33), multiplex RT-PCR 8% (3 of 37), and FISH 8% (3 of 37). Therefore, the relative accuracy of each method for disease monitoring in Ph1-positive leukemia was: 83% (24 of 29) for karyotyping, 82% (27 of 33) for Southern blotting, 92% (34 of 37) for FISH, and 92% (34 of 37) for multiplex RT-PCR. This multiplex RT-PCR assay appears equivalent to FISH in terms of accuracy, simplicity, and turnaround time and both are superior to Southern blot and conventional cytogenetics in the laboratory monitoring of Ph1-positive leukemias.
Colleoni
G W
GW
Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.
Jhanwar
S C
SC
Ladanyi
M
M
Chen
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002648:Child; D020732:Cytogenetic Analysis; D005260:Female; D016313:Genes, abl / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D020014:K562 Cells; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured