Comparative genomic hybridization in acute myeloid leukemia. A comparison with G-banding and chromosome painting

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) represents a new technique for global analysis of a whole genome for net loss or gain of chromosome regions. It offers several advantages over alternative techniques. It permits analysis of a whole genome in a single hybridization reaction, it does not require the generation of metaphases from tumor cells, and it only requires very small numbers of tumor cells. Most previous studies have concentrated on the application of CGH to the analysis of chromosome defects associated with solid tumors. In this paper we report the use of CGH to study bone marrow samples from a patient with acute myeloid leukemia and complex karyotypic abnormalities. The results obtained using CGH were compared with G-banding analysis. Both G-banding and CGH detected a 5q deletion, a 7q deletion, additional material derived from 8q, and an HSR on 11q. However, several apparently discrepant results were also obtained. Paints for chromosomes 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 17, 22, and X were therefore used to resolve these differences. Our results demonstrate that CGH detected chromosome abnormalities associated with acute myeloid leukemia and that CGH provided information that was not obtained by G-banding analysis alone. These data suggest that CGH may prove a useful adjunct to conventional cytogenetic and molecular analysis of hematologic malignancies.