A rare, in-frame BCR-ABL fusion (e13a3) in a patient with an aggressive chronic myeloid leukaemia.

We have identified a rare BCR-ABL chimaeric gene with multiplex and nested RT-PCR in a patient with an unusually aggressive chronic myeloid leukaemia. cDNA sequencing showed an in-frame rearrangement with a breakpoint in BCR exon e13 (b2) and fusion with ABL exon 3 following skipping of the entire ABL exon a2. These data confirm the heterogeneity of breakpoints in BCR-ABL rearrangements. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel