[DNA analysis in the assessment of leukemia]

In 5 cases of leukaemia and in two other cases where a diagnosis of leukaemia was considered, no definitive classification was made by morphology, cytochemistry, patterns of surface markers and/or cytogenetics. Therefore, genotyping was performed by DNA analysis of leukaemic cells. Somatic rearrangements in leukaemic cell DNA of immunoglobulin and T cell receptor genes, and of the breakpoint cluster region on chromosome 22 involved in the Philadelphia chromosome translocation, proved to be useful DNA markers to confirm or refute particular types of leukaemia.