Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of minimal residual disease and the relevance of the der(9) deletion in imatinib-treated patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Abstract

Forty-six patients with chronic myeloid leukemia receiving imatinib mesylate (39 in chronic phase, one in accelerated phase, and six in blastic crisis), were studied for a 20-62 month follow-up period by cytogenetics and fluorescence in situ hybridization using dual-color, dual-fusion BCR and ABL probes. This approach provided valuable results for disease management of analysis.