Origins of STIL-TAL1 fusion genes in children who later developed paediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: An investigation of neonatal blood spots

: SCL/TAL1 interrupting locus (STIL)-T-cell acute leukaemia (TAL1) fusion genes are present in approximately 11-27% of children with paediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), but the developmental timing of the rearrangement is still unknown. To investigate whether the fusion gene can be detected in neonatal blood spots (NBSs) from paediatric patients diagnosed with T-cell ALL, we analysed DNA from 38 paediatric patients with T-ALL by nested polymerase chain reaction and electrophoresis. The STIL-TAL1 fusion gene was not detected in NBSs from any of the 38 patients with T-ALL, suggesting that STIL-TAL1 fusion genes are most probably postnatal events in paediatric T-ALL.