Molecular assays for specific gene fusions provide a genetic approach to the differential diagnosis of soft tissue sarcomas. The genetic categories correspond closely to the standard histopathologic categories. The polymerase chain reaction assays for chimeric transcripts are useful tools for the rapid and objective assessment of pediatric soft tissue sarcomas.

We examined clinical, morphologic, and cytogenetic features and ALL-1 (MLL, Html, H M I gene rearrangements in 17 cases of secondary leukemia that occurred 11 months to 9 years from diagnoses of primary cancers in children who received topoisomerase II inhibitors or developed secondary leukemias typical of those associated with this therapy. Primary diagnoses included nine solid tumors and eight leukemias. Ten secondary leukemias were acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one was of mixed lineage, two were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and four presented as myelodysplasia. Of 15 cases with llq23 involvement, 11 (73%) were cytogenetically identifiable; four cases had molecular rearrangement only.By Southern blot, rearrangements T The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. section 1734 solely to indicate this fact. 0 1995 by The American Society of Hematology. 0006-4971/95/8511-0021$3.00/0 3250 within the ALL-l gene were similar to sporadic cases. The resub of this analysis suggest the following: (1) In most pediatric cases of topoisomerase II inhibitor-associated leukemia, there is disruption of the breakpoint cluster region of the ALL-l gene at chromosomal band llq23. (2) Exposure histories vary in secondary 1 lq23 leukemia, as the only topoisomerase II inhibitor was dactinomycin in one case, and, in another case, no topoisomerase

Articles you may be interested inApplication of a simple automatic null method for vapor pressure measurements by the torsionKnudsen effusionrecoil technique Rev. Sci. Instrum. 52, 750 (1981); 10.1063/1.1136671Vaporization chemistry and thermodynamics of the lead-indium-sulfur system by computerautomated Knudsen and torsion effusion methods A tor:ion-Knudsen ~ffusion-reco~l .apparatus ,,:ith an automatic controlling and recording microbalance system wa: dev~sed to determme the atomIcIty of metallic vapors. A detailed description is given of the apparatus and the ~ahbratIOn procedure. Data are presented in order to evaluate the experimental reliability and precision of the Instrument. FIG. 2. Helices as acousticwaveguides.