Prevalence of 7q deletion in patients with Acute myeloid leukemia

Introduction: Deletion of critical regions on long arm of chromosome 7 is important in pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These regions include 7q22 and 7q31 which carry certain tumor suppressor genes which if deleted can result in uncontrolled division of myeloid cells. Aims: To estimate prevalence of 7q deletion in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Materials and methods: Retrospective study was done on 25 bone marrow samples diagnosed with Acute myeloid leukemia referred to Division of Human Genetics St.John’s Medical college, Bangalore. Samples were subjected to standard protocol for karyotyping and FISH. Percentage of patients who were positive for 7q deletion was calculated. Results: Out of 25 samples, 5 samples were positive for 7 q deletion accounting to 20% of total patients diagnosed with AML. Conclusion: Presence of 7q deletion can be a poor prognostic marker since tumour suppressor genes are present in these regions. Hence cytogenetic markers are very important in deciding treatment and prognosis in these patients.