Haematologica (Sep 2014)

Distinct characteristics of e13a2 versus e14a2 BCR-ABL1 driven chronic myeloid leukemia under first-line therapy with imatinib

  • Benjamin Hanfstein,
  • Michael Lauseker,
  • Rüdiger Hehlmann,
  • Susanne Saussele,
  • Philipp Erben,
  • Christian Dietz,
  • Alice Fabarius,
  • Ulrike Proetel,
  • Susanne Schnittger,
  • Claudia Haferlach,
  • Stefan W. Krause,
  • Jörg Schubert,
  • Hermann Einsele,
  • Mathias Hänel,
  • Jolanta Dengler,
  • Christiane Falge,
  • Lothar Kanz,
  • Andreas Neubauer,
  • Michael Kneba,
  • Frank Stegelmann,
  • Michael Pfreundschuh,
  • Cornelius F. Waller,
  • Karsten Spiekermann,
  • Gabriela M. Baerlocher,
  • Markus Pfirrmann,
  • Joerg Hasford,
  • Wolf-Karsten Hofmann,
  • Andreas Hochhaus,
  • Martin C. Müller

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3324/haematol.2013.096537
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 99, no. 9

Abstract

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The vast majority of chronic myeloid leukemia patients express a BCR-ABL1 fusion gene mRNA encoding a 210 kDa tyrosine kinase which promotes leukemic transformation. A possible differential impact of the corresponding BCR-ABL1 transcript variants e13a2 (“b2a2”) and e14a2 (“b3a2”) on disease phenotype and outcome is still a subject of debate. A total of 1105 newly diagnosed imatinib-treated patients were analyzed according to transcript type at diagnosis (e13a2, n=451; e14a2, n=496; e13a2+e14a2, n=158). No differences regarding age, sex, or Euro risk score were observed. A significant difference was found between e13a2 and e14a2 when comparing white blood cells (88 vs. 65 × 109/L, respectively; P