A real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay for monitoring DEK-CAN fusion transcripts arising from translocation t(6;9) in acute myeloid leukemia.

We have developed a real-time quantitative RT-PCR (RQ-PCR) assay for the DEK-CAN fusion transcript, which results from t(6;9)(p23;q34) and is found in about 1% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cases. In diagnostic samples from three acute myeloid leukemia patients an RQ-PCR assay sensitivity of 1:396-1:3446 was obtained. In a single patient followed closely for 57 weeks, an increasing DEK-CAN level was detected 40 days before an early hematological relapse. This assay should enable the widespread longitudinal minimal residual disease (MRD) follow-up in this rare subgroup of AML patients, thus adding to our knowledge of its course.