BCR-ABL1 molecular detection using quantitative PCR (qPCR) methods is the golden standard of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) monitoring. However, due to variable sensitivity of qPCR assays across laboratories, alternative methods are tested. Digital PCR (dPCR) has been suggested as a robust and reproducible option. Here we present a comparison of droplet dPCR with routinely used reverse-transcription qPCR (RT-qPCR) and automated GeneXpert systems. Detection limit of dPCR was above 3 BCR-ABL1 copies, although due to background amplification the resulting sensitivity was 0.01% BCR-ABL1 (MR4.0). Nevertheless, in comparison with GeneXpert, dPCR categorized more than 50% of the patients into different MR groups, showing a potential for improved BCR-ABL1 detection.

Centre of Molecular Biology and Gene Therapy University Hospital Brno Czech Republic

Department of Internal Medicine Hematology and Oncology Faculty of Medicine Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Department of Molecular Medicine Central European Institute of Technology Masaryk University Brno Czech Republic

Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion Prague Czech Republic

Internal Haematology and Oncology Clinic University Hospital Brno Czech Republic

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