Chronic myeloid leukemia in blast phase associated with t(3;8)(q26;q24)

We previously reported a recurrent t(3;8)(q26;q24) translocation involving EVI1 in five patients with myelodysplastic syndrome or acute myeloid leukemia. Here we report the same structural abnormality in a case of chronic myeloid leukemia in blast phase. The t(3;8)(q26;q24) occurred several months after the initial diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia, while the patient was being treated with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. We confirmed rearrangement of EVI1 by fluorescence in situ hybridization assay using a dual-color break-apart probe set that spans the EVI1 region. Our findings demonstrate that, similar to other recurrent translocations involving 3q26, such as t(3;3) and t(3;21), the t(3;8)(q26;q24) is implicated not only in myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, but also in progression of chronic myeloid leukemia. These findings extend the known disease spectrum associated with this cytogenetic aberration. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.