Clinical significance of the del(20q) chromosome in hematologic disorders

Patients with hematologic neoplasias often have chromosomal aberrations in the cells of their bone marrow or unstimulated blood. One recurrent abnormality is a deletion of the long arm of chromosome 20, primarily described in polycythemia vera, but later seen in a range of hematologic disorders. We have studied 32 patients with del(20q) as the sole chromosomal aberration, investigating significance of this aberration for the clinical diagnoses, hematologic parameters, and prognoses within this patient group. According to our results, del(20q) is primarily associated with myeloid disorders, but it is not specific for any certain disease, nor does the proportion of cells with del(20q) correlate with prognosis.