Early prediction of treatment outcome in acute myeloid leukemia by measurement of WT1 transcript levels in peripheral blood samples collected after chemotherapy.

The Wilms' tumor gene WT1 is a reliable marker for minimal residual disease assessment in acute leukemia patients. The study was designed to demonstrate the potential use of WT1 to establish quality of remission in acute leukemia patients for early identification of patients at high risk of relapse. A prospective study based on a quantitative Real-Time PCR (TaqMan) assay in 562 peripheral blood samples collected from 82 acute leukemia patients at diagnosis and during follow-up was established.

Genetic abnormalities as targets for molecular therapies in myelodysplastic syndromes.

Recent advances in molecular genetics have increased knowledge regarding the mechanisms leading to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), secondary acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and therapy-induced MDS. Many genetic defects underlying MDS and AML have been identified thereby allowing the development of new molecular-targeted therapies. Several new classes of drugs have shown promise in early clinical trials and may probably alter the standard of care of these patients in the near future.

Valproate enhances imatinib-induced growth arrest and apoptosis in chronic myeloid leukemia cells.

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of the clinically available histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor valproate to enhance the cytotoxicity of the Bcr-Abl inhibitor imatinib in imatinib-resistant cell lines.

Methods: Interactions between imatinib, and valproate have been examined in imatinib-sensitive and -resistant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)cell lines (K562, KCL-22, CML-T1) and in bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNCs) derived from imatinib-resistant CML patients.

Results: In imatinib-sensitive cell lines, cotreatment with imatinib 0.