Background: Accurate assessment of minimal residual disease (MRD) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients after initial chemotherapy is essential to evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic regimens. Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) is a pan-leukemic marker used for identification of the leukemic clone rather than the use of individual specific molecular aberration of ALL.
Methods: Using a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, bone marrow samples from 41 newly diagnosed Egyptian ALL patients; 22 adults and 19 children were examined for WT1 expression.