Cytogenetic and molecular basis of BCR-ABL myelodysplastic syndrome: diagnosis and prognostic approach

Abstract

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) include a heterogeneous group of blood disorders generally afflicting older people. Several genetic factors have been reported from these patients that have an important role in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of this disease. BCR-ABL1 is a genetic factor that has occasionally been reported in some studies. This review attempts to characterize MDS patients reported to harbor this fusion and to assess the diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic potential of BCR-ABL1 fusionin MDS patients. This review showed that BCR-ABL fusion has been reported in 22 MDS patients whose condition generally transformed to acute myeloblastic leukemia and was not responsive to conventional therapies. However, these patients showed a good response to treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Therefore, even though incidence of BCR-ABL fusion appears to be low in MDS patients, its detection is essential in assessing disease prognosis and choosing appropriate treatment.

Keywords

Myelodysplastic syndrome / cytogenetics / BCR-ABL

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