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Multiple sub-microscopic genomic lesions are a universal feature of chronic myeloid leukaemia at diagnosis

Leukemia volume 22, pages 1806–1807 (2008)Cite this article

Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a clonal stem cell disorder, characterized at the cytogenetic level by the presence of a balanced chromosomal rearrangement, the t(9;22) or Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) translocation and at the molecular level by the presence of the BCR-ABL fusion gene.1 Several lines of evidence point to deregulated expression of the BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase as the initial genomic lesion in CML.1

Despite the presence of a consistent genetic abnormality, however, CML patients display considerable clinical heterogeneity, the basis of which is poorly understood. This heterogeneity was well characterized by Sokal et al.2 and is reflected 24 years later by the varying responses to treatment in chronic phase patients treated with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor.3 We therefore used a novel ultra-high-resolution genomic screening assay to search for additional acquired genomic abnormalities that might explain this clinical heterogeneity and help to assess prognosis for individual patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Haematology, Imperial College London, London, UK

    J S Khorashad, V A De Melo, G Gerrard, D Marin, J F Apperley, J M Goldman, L Foroni & A G Reid

  2. Roche Diagnostics UK Limited, West Sussex, UK

    H Fiegler

Authors
  1. J S Khorashad
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  2. V A De Melo
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  3. H Fiegler
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  4. G Gerrard
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  5. D Marin
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  6. J F Apperley
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  7. J M Goldman
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  8. L Foroni
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  9. A G Reid
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Correspondence to A G Reid.

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Khorashad, J., De Melo, V., Fiegler, H. et al. Multiple sub-microscopic genomic lesions are a universal feature of chronic myeloid leukaemia at diagnosis. Leukemia 22, 1806–1807 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2008.210

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