Molecular Monitoring of BCR-ABL Fusion Transcripts in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia During Treatment Using the Endpoint Fluorescence Method

Objective The purpose of the study was to compare results and evaluate the agreement between the endpoint fluorescence (EPF) method and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) during molecular monitoring of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) receiving treatment. Materials and Methods The study was conducted at Molecular Lab of Riphah International University, Islamabad, Pakistan, from January 2017 to December 2018. A total of 150 blood specimens from 30 patients with CML were analyzed at regular intervals during therapy. The detection/quantification of transcript mRNA was done simultaneously using QPCR and the EPF method. Results Out of a total of 150 RNA specimens analyzed, 117 (78%) specimens were positive, whereas 33 (22%) were negative for the transcript using both methods at various stages of treatment. Strong linear negative correlations between the cycle threshold and relative fluorescence unit values were observed with P <.0001 at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of treatment. No significant difference (P >.05) between the means of the BCR-ABL percentage was observed in either method at all stages of treatment. The bias between the 2 methods was calculated as 0.069 +/- 3.50, and 95% limits of agreement were 6.92% to -6.79%. Conclusion We found that EPF is s simple method to detect/quantify BCR-ABL mRNA expression during treatment with comparable results to QPCR.