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

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.