Thalassemia in the Philippines.

For an archipelago that has a rich history of trade with overseas merchants and colonial rule, the Philippine Islands are models of ethnic and cultural diversity, including hereditary blood disorders such as hemoglobinopathies. Pending a government-led comprehensive national screening program, available cluster data provides evidence of the prevalence of thalassemia in the country. The National Blood Services Act of 1994 was enacted to promote voluntary blood donation to address the supply of blood products but falls short in addressing the immense blood transfusion requirements of the thalassemic community.

Prevalence of GSTT1, GSTM1 and NQO1 (609C>T) in Filipino children with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia).

In the present paper, we examined the incidence of polymorphic genes involved with the detoxification of exogenous chemicals, including carcinogens, namely GSTT1 (glutathione transferase theta1), GSTM1 (glutathione transferase micro1) and NQO1 (NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1) in 60 Filipino paediatric patients with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia). We found a significantly high incidence of the GSTM1 null genotype in ALL children (71.7%) compared with 51.