LSA researcher employs novel technique for CML diagnosis and treatment. (Leukemia Society of America, chronic myelogenous leukemia)

A novel technique for rapid diagnosis of genetic disorders, called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), is providing Society Scholar Dr. Ming-Sheng Lee with a useful tool to develop new strategies for treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

The use of PCR is providing the leukemia researcher with the ability to analyze disease progression and recurrence in patients at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

"Frequent recurrence is the major problem in the treatment of leukemias and lymphomas," says Dr. Lee. "My aim is to identfy CML patients who are at high risk of disease recurrence and, ultimately, detect residual leukemia cells early so that we are able to eliminate them completely and insure a complete cure for patients."

Curative treatment for CML aims at eradicating the genetic defect found in the cells of most CML patients. Known as the Philadelphia chromosome, the defect was first described by a resarcher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Finding the deficient chromosomal pattern, in which two tiny bits of genetic material have been rearranged, usually is the diagnostic clue to confirm CML.

Specifically in CML, a piece of chromosome designated as number 9 breaks off and reattached to chromosome 22 and a segment of number 22 reattaches to number 9.

This hybrid gene produces a protein that transforms normal cells into leukemia cells. Disappearance of the defect from patients' cells means the disease is in remission and signals a real chance of a long-lasting, disease-free survival which hopefully will extend to cure.

CML generally is treated with standard chemotherapy drugs which help to control, and sometimes eradicate, leukemia cells identified by the genetic abnormality. Eventually, however, most patients develop a more aggressive form of the leukemia and inevitably enter the fata stage of the disease.