title: Monitoring PML-RARalpha in acute promyelocytic leukemia.
abstract: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by a translocation between the promyelocytic leukemia gene (PML) on chromosome 15 and the retinoic acid receptor-alpha (RARalpha) gene on chromosome 17. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification of PML-RARalpha messenger RNA can establish the diagnosis of APL, predict response to all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide, detect minimal residual disease, and predict relapse. Quantitative "real-time" RT-PCR techniques may improve residual disease assessment by facilitating more rapid and standardized results. APL provides a useful model in which therapy is targeted to an underlying genetic aberration and treatment is adapted based on monitoring of residual disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA. jurcicj@mskcc.org
authors.forename: Joseph G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Jurcic
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / Q000378:metabolism*; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016879:Salvage Therapy
chemical_list: D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; C093476:promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor alpha fusion oncoprotein