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Updated: Jun 26, 2026
Interphase Fluorescence in situ Hybridization of Bone Marrow Smears of Multiple Myeloma
Published on: April 15, 2022
Bacterial artificial chromosome array-based comparative genomic hybridization using paired formalin-fixed,
Patrick A Lennon1, Yi Zhuang, Diane Pierson
1School of Health Sciences, Department of Hematopathology, the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Background:
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a neoplasm of malignant plasma cells that often harbors many chromosomal aberrations. Currently, fresh frozen tissues (FT) are considered the most reliable for molecular genetic analysis; however, formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are easily retrievable. Compared with conventional cytogenetics, bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) array-comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) allows more sensitive detection of chromosomal abnormalities.
Methods:
The authors analyzed 7 paired FT and FFPE samples of bone marrow aspirate materials obtained from patients with MM in parallel to determine the efficacy of BAC array-CGH using FFPE.
Results:
Thirty-four aberrations were identified, including 29 that were observed in both sample types, yielding 85% concordance. Nonrandom anomalies, including gains on 7q, 9q, 15q, and 19p and losses on 8p and 13q, were observed in paired samples from at least 2 patients. To verify these results, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed using probes specific for 7q and 15q, and gains were observed in the 4 samples that were examined. Furthermore, 1 of 3 samples from patients who had monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance that were tested also carried gain on 7q, suggesting that this aberration may be an early transforming event.
Conclusions:
The current results indicated that BAC array-CGH can be effective using FFPE samples and is a sensitive method for the identification of nonrandom chromosomal aberrations in MM.
