TEL/AML1 fusion gene resulting from a cryptic t(12;21) is uncommon in adult patients with B-cell lineage ALL and CML lymphoblastic transformation.

TEL is a new member of the ETS-like family on chromosome 12 and forms fusion genes with several partners in leukemia. Among these fusion genes, the TEL/AML1 translocation resulting from t(12;21) is found in approximately one quarter of the childhood B-cell lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cases and its prognosis is excellent. We examined 42 adult patients with B-cell lineage ALL and 13 adult patients with lymphoblastic transformation of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to detect TEL/AML1 fusion genes using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern blotting, but no translocation was detected. These findings indicate that absence of the TEL/AML1 fusion transcript partly correlates with the poorer outcome of adult B-cell lineage ALL as compared with childhood ALL and the TEL/AML1 fusion transcript is specific for pediatric B-cell lineage ALL.