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SW Morris, L Daniel, CM Ahmed, A Elias and P Lebowitz
Department of Internal Medicine, Yale Medical School, New Haven, CT 06510.
Strong evidence implicates fusion of control elements and 5' sequences of
the bcr gene of chromosome 22 with 3' sequences of the c-abl gene of
chromosome 9 in the pathogenesis of Ph-positive and certain cases of Ph-
negative chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Since this fusion gene gives
rise to a chimeric tyrosine protein kinase with transforming potential, and
since the bcr exon contribution to this chimeric protein is variable, the
question has arisen as to whether bcr breakpoint location and bcr exon
contribution could influence the clinical course of CML. Prior studies have
yielded conflicting results on this point. Here we have looked, in a manner
approximating a prospective analysis, at the relation of bcr breakpoint
localization to the duration of chronic phase, total survival, and blast
crisis phenotype in 81 patients presenting in the chronic phase of CML. We
have found no significant differences in chronic phase duration or total
survival among patients with breakpoints in the three major subregions of a
breakpoint cluster region within the bcr gene. These findings indicate that
chronic phase duration and total survival cannot be predicted from bcr
breakpoint for CML patients presenting in chronic phase and suggest that
unknown oncogenic events determining the onset of blast crisis are the
prime determinants of prognosis. Combined analysis of blast crisis cell
lineage in our patients and patients presented in a previous study has
revealed an overall ratio of myeloid:lymphoid (M:L) crisis of 3.4:1, but a
striking predominance of myeloid crisis in patients with breakpoints in
subregion 2 (M:L of 9:1), and a lower than expected M:L ratio (1.6:1) among
patients with breakpoints in subregion 3 (P for subregion 2 versus 3 =
.012; subregions 0,1,2 versus 3 = .012; subregions 0,1,3 versus 2 = .032).
The molecular basis for this divergence from the anticipated M:L ratio in
patients with breakpoints in bcr subregions 2 and 3 is unknown.
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