The Evaluation of Common Chromosomal Rearrangements and Their Frequencies in Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cases in Malatya Province of Turkey

INTRODUCTION: Recurrent balanced translocations are generally considered as the main parameter for prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In recent years, genetic studies have focused on the ascertaintment of molecular aspects of various oncofusion proteins associated with AML, such as t(15;17) PML-RARA, t(8;21) RUNX1-RUNX1T1, t(9;22) BCR-ABL1 and inv (16) CBFB-MYH11. Therefore, we evaluated AML cases with RT-PCR for known specific genetic abnormalities that could lead to more accurate prognosis.
METHODS: In our study, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 211 cases (59.2% males and 40.8% females). RT-PCR technique was performed to identify t(15;17) PML-RARA, t(8;21) RUNX1-RUNX1T1, t(9;22) BCR-ABL1 and inv (16) CBFB-MYH11.
RESULTS: The most common rearrangement was found to be t (15; 17) (%12.8) followed by t (8; 21) (7.11%), t (9; 22) (7.6%) and inv (16) (1.42%). Also, in two other cases (0.95%) t(15;17) and t(8;21) were seen together. In addition, none of these rearrangement were found in 148 cases (70.14%) with AML.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The presence of chromosomal rearrangements is very important in the diagnosis of AML. Therefore, rapid identification of specific rearrangements during diagnosis is important for prognostic purposes and can help identify the cause of leukemogenesis and provide new strategies for the treatment of cases. This study will be a baseline reference for future analysis and epidemiological data useful for transplant centers and oncologists both in Turkey and the region.