Recent Advances In Prognostic Markers Of Haematologic Malignancies

Abstract

Hematological malignancies comprise a group of neoplasms that arise through malignant transformation of bone marrow derived cells. The great diversity in these disorders reflects the complexity of normal haematopoeisis and the immune system.

The diagnosis of the hematologic malignancies presents a daunting challenge as the many stages of normal hematopoietic differentiation give rise to a number of biologically and clinically distinct neoplasms. These diverse blood malignancies are typically initiated by acquired alterations to the genome of the cancer cell, such as chromosomal translocations, mutations, and deletions and alterations in the •cell surface markers. Previously, the diagnosis of the hematologic cancers was mainly based on morphologic evaluation supplemented by analysis of a few molecular . markers. Defining categories by these means, the response of patients to

treatment was markedly heterogeneous, denoting that there can be several molecularly distinct diseases within the same morphologic category. In the last decades, immunophenotyping and cytogenetic/molecular genetic analysis have become of crucial importance as they supply informations for understanding pathogenesis, making a precise diagnosis, determining prognosis, choosing treatment and developing new forms of treatment.