Glass slide smears are a suitable source for RT-PCR-based analysis of chromosomal aberrations in leukaemias

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a well-established method to detect cytogenetic abnormalities, The handling of fresh specimens is difficult, therefore a method to use smears of blood or bone marrow as a source would be advantageous. Furthermore, such a technique would give the opportunity to investigate retrospectively bone marrow smears in leukaemias without cytogenetic results, The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of staining procedures and laboratory handling of smears, We chose CML cases as a model. We demonstrated that smears are a suitable source for PCR without loss of information caused by previous routine laboratory handling.