DETECTION OF B-RAF V600E MUTATION IN PATIENTS WITH HAIRY CELL LEUKEMIA BY ALLELE-SPECIFIC RT-PCR
Allele-specific real time PCR (RT-PCR) was used for detection of B-RAF V600E mutation. High incidence and specificity of B-RAF V900E in classical hairy cell leukemia (c-HCL) in comparison with other B-lymphoproliferative diseases (B-LPD) - chronic lymphoid leukemia, the splenic marginal zone lymphoma - was confirmed. The c-HCL cases without B-RAF V600 mutation were rare. The incidence of B-RAF V600E was for the first time studied in a sample of Russian patients with B-LPD. The results confirmed high significance of this mutation as a diagnostic test for c-HCL. The detection of this mutation should be considered as an indication for therapy with B-RAF inhibitors. The sensitivity of the method (at least 1% leukemic cells) allows its use for the detection of the minimum residual disease.