Molecular monitoring of the treatment of patients with BCR/ABL (+) chronic myelogenous leukemia.
BACKGROUND
The molecular follow-up of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has been described as useful in other countries, but there are not data reported in Mexico.


METHODS
All patients studied at Laboratories Clínicos de Puebla/Centro de Hematología y Medicina Interna de Puebla in which the BCR-ABL hybrid gene was identified by means of polymerase chain reaction were analyzed. In 22 individuals the molecular marker of the disease was studied at diagnosis and in different instances afterwards; these patients were treated with chemotherapy, interferon, autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.


RESULTS
Only the six patients that were allografted from HLA-identical siblings cleared the molecular marker of the disease; the rest of them did not achieve molecular remissions. The median survival (SV) of the whole group has not been reached, whereas the 53-month SV is 68%. One of the allografted patients died as a result of complications of graft versus-host disease.


CONCLUSIONS
We have found useful the molecular monitoring of the treatment of patients with CML. Using this approach, we found that molecular remissions can be accomplished only with allografting; however, other therapeutic approaches may also result in long-lasting hematologic remissions.
Ruiz-Argüelles
G J
GJ
Centro de Hematología y Medicina Interna de Puebla, Universidad de las Américas-Puebla. gruizl@clinicaruiz.com
López-Martínez
B
B
Ramírez-Cabrera
J M
JM
Reyes-Núñez
V
V
Rodríguez-Cedeño
H M
HM
Garcés-Eisele
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl / Q000097:blood*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl