Evaluation of a novel multiplex RT-qPCR assay for the quantification of leukemia-associated BCR-ABL1 translocation

Abstract

Although monitoring of BCR-ABL1 translocation has become an established practice in the management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the detection limit of the BCR-ABL1 transcripts needs more standardization. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical performances of a novel assay for the quantification of BCR-ABL1 fusion transcripts (e13a2 and e14a2) and ABL1 in a single reaction. This assay is based on the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in multiplex format. In a retrospective comparative clinical study performed in a reference laboratory, RNA was extracted from 48 CML patient blood samples with various BCR-ABL1/ABL1 ratios and RT-qPCR was performed using either MAScIR assay or the RT-qPCR simplex reference assay used in routine clinical testing. The comparative clinical results showed high qualitative and quantitative concordance (correlation coefficient >0.95) between MAScIR and the reference assays. The present study illustrates the utility of MAScIR assay as a sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective quantitative device to monitor the BCR-ABL1 ratios by RT-qPCR on whole blood of diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) leukemia patients. This test could be used as an aid in the assessment of molecular response to available treatments.

Fluorescent and colorimetric RT-LAMP as a rapid and specific qualitative method for chronic myeloid leukemia diagnosis

“…Several protocols for BCR-ABL detection by RT-qPCR are available in scienti c literature and many international researches have performed this assay standardization [23][24][25][26][27][28][29] . The sensitivity of RT-qPCR for BCR-ABL quanti cation assays is increasing in order to detect lower numbers of leukemia cells and minimal residual disease (MRD).…”