Myeloid Leukemia

Classification of AML by DNA-Oligonucleotide Microarrays 213
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Classification of AML by DNA-Oligonucleotide
Microarrays
Alexander Kohlmann, Wolfgang Kern, Wolfgang Hiddemann,
and Torsten Haferlach
Summary
Accurate diagnosis and classification of leukemias are the bases for the appropriate management
of patients. The diagnostic accuracy and efficiency of present methods may be
improved by the use of microarrays. The followin g chapter gives an overview of the method of
gene expression profiling of leukemia samples, its laboratory procedure, and how to approach
the analysis of the data.
Key Words: AML; gene expression; microarray; classification
1. Introduction
The standard methods for establishing the diagnosis of acute leukemias are
cytomorphology and cytochemistry in combination with multiparameter
immunophenotyping. Furthermore, cytogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridization,
and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assays add important
information regarding biologically defined and prognostically relevant subgroups
and allow a comprehensive diagnosis of well-defined subentities today.
In the clinical setting, a better understanding of the clinical course of distinct
biologically defined disease subtypes is the basis for a selection of diseasespecific
therapeutic approaches. Microarray technology, which quantifies gene
expression intensities of thousands of genes in a single analysis, holds the
potential to become an essential tool for the molecular classification of leukemias.
It may therefore be used as a routine method for diagnostic purposes in
the near future. This chapter outlines the major steps of the procedure for gene
expression profiling analyses using the Affymetrix microarray platform.
From: Methods in Molecular Medicine, Vol. 125: Myeloid Leukemia: Methods and Protocols
Edited by: H. Iland, M. Hertzberg, and P. Marlton © Humana Press Inc., Totowa, NJ
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