Minimal residual disease in B-lymphoproliferative disorders by PCR detection of immunoglobulin heavy chain gene recombination.

We amplified and sequenced the rearranged immunoglobulin heavy chain VDJ genomic unit in B-leukemias and used it as a clone-specific marker for the molecular monitoring of the patients during and after therapeutic treatment. The method described is patient-specific rather than disorder-specific, more sensitive and less time-consuming than other conventional techniques for the detection of minimal residual disease. We propose reproducible and quick procedures, from DNA extraction to Southern blotting, that can be easily performed in any clinical laboratory and also applied to other kinds of investigation.