BCR/ABL analysis in myelodysplastic syndromes

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.