Estimating the relapse stage in chronic myeloid leukaemia patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation by the amount of BCR-ABL fusion transcripts detected using a new real-time polymerase chain reaction method
Ah. Elmaagacli et al., Estimating the relapse stage in chronic myeloid leukaemia patients after allogeneic stem cell transplantation by the amount of BCR-ABL fusion transcripts detected using a new real-time polymerase chain reaction method, BR J HAEM, 113(4), 2001, pp. 1072-1075
We have used a new single-step real-time reverse transcription polymerase c
hain reaction (RT-PCR) method to quantify BCR-ABL transcripts, thereby esti
mating the relapse stage in chronic myeloid leukaemia patients after alloge
neic transplants. In 402 samples from 172 patients, BCR-ABL expression was
determined and normalized, using the GAPDH housekeeping gene product as an
endogenous reference. In our real-time RT-PCR assay serial dilutions of RNA
of the K562 cell line remained. positive down to 7.5 pg. The median normal
ized ECR-ABL amount differed significantly (P < 0.001) between the various
disease stages and was 0.06% (range 0.001-1.55%), 3.2% (range 1.4-5.6%) and
21.5% (range 6.8 -827%) in 17 patients with a molecular relapse, in eight
patients with a cytogenetic relapse and in 10 patients with a haematologica
l relapse respectively.