Prevalence of ETV6–RUNX1 fusion gene in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in China

A series of 92 Chinese children newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were examined for the ETV6–RUNX1 (previously TEL–AML1) fusion gene by using a nested reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. ETV6–RUNX1 fusion transcripts were detected in 21 of 92 patients (22.8%): 16 with common ALL, 4 with precursor B-cell ALL, and 1 with T-ALL. The prevalence of ETV6–RUNX1 positivity was 24.7% (20/81) in childhood B-lineage ALL. The prevalence of ETV6–RUNX1 in Chinese pediatric ALL patients proved to be similar to that found in other countries.