Background: TP53, located on chromosome 17p13, is one of the most mutated genes affecting many types of human cancers .To establish an association between the incidence of exon 8 p53 (R282W) gene and progression of the disease in CML and also to correlate the presence of mutation with the clinicopathological features of the disease.Methods: p53 status was investigated by studying mutations in the p53 gene at exon 8 region after confirming the diagnosis by BCR-ABL. 100 CML samples were analyzed using the Allele-Specific Oligonucleotide PCR assay. Mutations occurred in 58% of the cases in exon 8 codon 282 region of the p53 gene. C : T transitions occurred at a high frequency with a statistically significant result (p=0.03).Results: Of the 100 clinically confirmed specimens, 58% tested positive for the mutation. Also, the mutation was found to be higher in the progressed stages (88.2% in accelerated phase and 60.0% in blast crisis) of CML compared to the chronic stage (35.2%). A statistically significant association (p=0.001) was found between the occurrence of p53 R282W mutation and the clinical phase of CML with chronic, accelerated and blast crisis phases. The mutation was detected in a vast majority (88.2%) of patients in the accelerated and the blast crisis phase (60.0%) indicating that this mutation might play a critical role in predicting the progression of disease in CML. Clinicopathological correlation with TLC, platelet count and the haematological response elicited a significant association with patients harboring the mutation with (p=0.01), (p=0.001) and (p=0.01) respectively. Conclusion:Our study suggests that p53 mutations in the exon 8 region might have a strong influence on disease progression and poor response of imatiib (Tyrosine kinase inhibitor) in CML patients.

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Introduction: There is a significant difference in the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) levels of Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) patients before and during treatment with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs). This is because high ROS levels support oncogenic phenotype of CML by inducing proliferation pathway and accumulation of further genetic mutations. Often the measurement is done on WBC or serum for ascertaining one type of ROS species, but measurement of global ROS in fresh whole blood will give more accurate estimation of ROS. Aim:To measure global ROS in peripheral blood of CML patients.

CML is a pluripotent haematopoietic stem cell disorder. Diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia is based on the detection of BCR-ABL gene, a product derived from translocation of chromosome 22 to chromosome 9 [1]. It is detected in more than 95% of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), 20% to 40% in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 2% to 5% in paediatric ALL [2]. CML progresses at a varying rate from the CP to the AP and eventually to the BP [3]. However molecular mechanisms responsible for driving the transition of CML from chronic phase to blast crisis are not well AbstractBackground: The epigenetic impact of DNA methylation in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is not completely understood. RIZ1 expression and activity are reduced in many cancers. In CML, blastic transformation is associated with loss of heterozygosity in the region where RIZ1 is located. RIZ1 is a PR domain methyltransferase that methylates histone H3 lysine 9, a modification important for transcriptional repression. In CML blast crisis cell lines RIZ1 represses insulin-like growth factor-1 expression and autocrine signaling. Together these observations suggest that RIZ1 may have a role in the chronic phase to blast crisis transition in CML. Methods:To examine whether promoter methylation is involved in the disease development and progression of CML, we investigated promoter methylation status of RIZ1 gene in 100 chronic myeloid leukemia's (CML) patients and 50 controls by MSP method. Results:The RIZ1 methylation was studied in 100 CML patients, 9 were cases were methylation positive cases, six of nine were in blastic phase, 2 in chronic phase and one patient in accelerated phase. It was seen that RIZ1 methylation was increased significantly from early to advanced phase. The higher frequency of RIZ1 methylation was reported in haematologically resistant cases (42% vs 2%) and molecularly resistant cases (16.77% vs 1.92%) than the responders. The higher frequency of RIZ1 methylation was found in CML patients who were treated with interferon initially followed by imatinib treatment. Also RIZ1 hypermethylation was associated with faster disease progression p<0.003 than the non methylated cases. No correlation was found between RIZ1 gene methylation with age, thrombocytopenia, types of bcr/abl transcripts of CML patients.