RESULTS.
At the time of CML diagnosis, 19 patients had TRFs within the age-Medical College, Tokyo, Japan. matched normal range (mean { 2 1 standard deviation [SD]) and the remaining 2 Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, 25 patients had TRFs shorter than the age-matched normal range (Γ΅ mean { 2 1 The University of Texas Southwestern Medical SD). Hematologic findings, including leukocyte count, hemoglobin level, platelet Center, Dallas, Texas.
count, and percentage of bone marrow blasts at the time of diagnosis did not significantly differ between patients with normal and shortened TRFs; however, those with shortened TRFs had high levels of telomerase activity (P Γ
0.045). In a group of patients treated with alpha-interferon (n Γ
32), those with normal TRFs had a significantly lower frequency of blast crises (P Γ
0.0328), a significantly higher incidence of cytogenetic responses (P Γ
0.0185), and a favorable prognosis (P Γ΅ 0.01) compared with those with shortened TRFs.
CONCLUSIONS.
These findings suggest that normal TRFs in a small number of CML patients at the time of diagnosis may have a significant amount of normal stem cells remaining. The authors suggest that normal TRFs at the time of diagnosis indicate a subset of CML patients who may respond favorably to alpha-interferon therapy.