Apoorva Arora
Last Activity: 10 Years ago
Philadelphia chromosome is a specificchromosomalabnormality that is associated withchronic myelogenous leukemia(CML). It is the result of a reciprocaltranslocationbetween chromosome 9 and 22, and is specifically designated t(9;22)(q34;q11). The presence of this translocation is a highlysensitivetest for CML, since 95% of people with CML have this abnormality (the remainder have either a cryptic translocation that is invisible onG-bandedchromosome preparations, or a variant translocation involving another chromosome or chromosomes as well as the long arm of chromosomes 9 and 22). However, the presence of the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome is not sufficientlyspecificto diagnose CML, since it is also found inacute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL, 25–30% in adult and 2–10% inpediatriccases) and occasionally inacute myelogenous leukemia (AML).