Abstract
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of myeloid disorders commonly occurring in older patients. Several genetic abnormalities have been observed in these patients, including BCR/ABL fusion, which has been sporadically reported in some papers. In this study, we dealt with evaluating the incidence of BCR/ABL fusion as a diagnostic and prognostic marker for MDS patients. Fifty patients were diagnosed as MDS by morphology and clinical examinations. Cytogenetic and molecular genetic analysis of BCR/ABL fusion was done on bone marrow (BM) biopsy and aspirate using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, respectively. Descriptive data analysis was done using SPSS software, and Mann-Whitney and independent-sample t test were used to assess the correlation between variables. P210 BCR/ABL fusion was detected in two male patients (4%). Comparison of hematologic indices showed no significant difference between the patients harboring BCR/ABL fusion and to those not harboring it, and BM cellularity was not different between the two groups. MDS patients harboring BCR/ABL fusion did not respond well to conventional MDS treatments but showed a good response to imatinib therapy. Assessment of BCR/ABL fusion in MDS patients can be helpful for the diagnosis and prediction of their response to treatment, but further studies are required to confirm this recommendation.
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Acknowledgements
This paper is issued from the thesis of Omid Kiani Ghale-sardi, MSc student of hematology and blood banking. This work was financially supported by grant TH 94/11 from vice chancellor for Research Affairs of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences.
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N.S. has conceived the manuscript and revised it. O.K.G and E.Kh wrote the manuscript. M.A.J. and A.A provided clinical data and information. O.K.G. performed the technical tests.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the local ethics committee of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (AJUMS.REC.1394.494) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Highlights
P210 BCR/ABL fusion was positive in two male MDS patients.
MDS patients harboring BCR/ABL fusion responded well to treatment with imatinib.
Screening for BCR/ABL fusion in routine laboratory tests of MDS patients can play a significant role in their treatment but needs further studies.
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Ghale-sardi, O.K., JalaliFar, M.A., Khodadi, E. et al. BCR/ABL analysis in myelodysplastic syndromes. Comp Clin Pathol 27, 379–384 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-017-2602-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-017-2602-4