INFLUENCE OF GRAFT-VERSUS-HOST DISEASE ON THE ERADICATION OF MINIMAL RESIDUAL LEUKEMIA DETECTED BY POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION IN CHRONIC MYELOID-LEUKEMIA PATIENTS AFTER BONE-MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

To evaluate the remission quality of Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive, BCR/ABL-positive CML patients after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) we used the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect BCR-ABL specific RNA in addition to Southern blotting, cytogenetic, and hematological investigation. Fifty-five bone marrow samples of 27 patients in clinical remission were studied by PCR, 0.5 to 99 months (median 8 months) after BMT