RT-PCR in acute promyelocytic leukemia: second workshop of the European Retinoic Group, Paris, France, 17-18 December 1994.

Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction is a recent technique in the diagnosis and assessment of minimal residual disease of acute promyelocytic leukemia, by amplification, of the different PML-RARalpha transcripts resulting from the t(15;17) translocation. The main issues addressed by the Second Workshop on PML-RARalpha-RT-PCR which took place in Paris, France on 17-18 December 1994, were related to (1) defining the specific pitfalls of the PML-RARalpha-RT-PCR, and means to improve the sensitivity of the technique; (2) the validity of PCR results obtained in CR to provide information on the extent of the disease; (3) the frequency and prognostic value of the different PML-RARalpha transcripts.