bcr-abl Translocation for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia

Synonyms:
Philadelphia Chromosome

Specimen:
Whole blood or bone marrow

Volume:
7 mL whole blood or 1-2 mL bone marrow

Minimum Volume:
3 mL whole blood

Container:
Lavender-stopper (EDTA) tubes

Collection:
Submit at room temperature. Specimens should arrive in the laboratory within 48 hours of collection. Indicate date and time of collection on test request form.

Storage:
Maintain specimen at room temperature.

Causes for Rejection:
Specimen frozen; specimen in formalin or other fixative; clotted specimen; hemolysis; blood more than 72 hours old; bone marrow aspirates older than 5 days; bags or bottles of body fluid or bronchial washings

Use:
Aid in the diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and monitoring for minimal residual disease. CML is associated with a bcr-abl chromosomal translocation t(9; 22) in >95% of all cases.

Methodology:
Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and allele-specific oligonucleotide (ASO) analysis