EXTRACHROMOSOMAL GENE AMPLIFICATION IN ACUTE MYELOID-LEUKEMIA - CHARACTERIZATION BY METAPHASE ANALYSIS, COMPARATIVE GENOMIC HYBRIDIZATION, AND SEMIQUANTITATIVE PCR

A case of acute myeloid leukemia (M-3) with complex karyotypic aberrat ions and double minute (dmin) chromosomes is presented. The patient ha d no history of prior exposure to mutagenic or carcinogenic agents or of other malignancies. She died from CNS involvement six weeks after t he initial diagnosis. We used comparative genomic hybridization to ide ntify the amplified sequences presumed to represent the dmin of the le ukemic cells; the tumor/normal ratios indicated increased signal inten sity at 8q24. This localization prompted investigation by semi-quantit ative PCR that revealed amplification of the MYC oncogene. The extent of chromosome aberrations and the oncogene amplification, both linked with poor prognosis, may relate to the rapid course of this patient's disease. (C) 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.