Gene Expression Analysis of CML Patients across the Age Spectrum

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) accounts for 2-9% of leukemias in children and adolescents, and occurs with much greater frequency in adults. Compared to adults, children with CML tend to present with higher white blood cell counts and larger spleens, suggesting that the biology of pediatric CML is different from adult CML. We hypothesize that the differences in clinical presentation of pediatric CML are due to unique molecular characteristics that differ from adult CML. To test this hypothesis, we compared the transcriptomic signature of pediatric and adult CML CD34+ cells and healthy age-matched CD34+ cells.