Screening for diverse PDGFRA or PDGFRB fusion genes is facilitated by generic quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis.

Background: Rapid identification of diverse fusion genes with involvement of PDGFRA or PDGFRB in eosinophilia-associated myeloproliferative neoplasms is essential for adequate clinical management but is complicated by the multitude and heterogeneity of partner genes and breakpoints.

Design And Methods: We established a generic quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to detect overexpression of the 3'-regions of PDGFRA or PDGFRB as a possible indicator of an underlying fusion.

Results: At diagnosis, all patients with known fusion genes involving PDGFRA (n=5; 51 patients) or PDGFRB (n=5; 7 patients) showed significantly increased normalized expression levels compared to 191 patients with fusion gene-negative eosinophilia or healthy individuals (PDGFRA/ABL: 0.