This book provides a state-of-the-art approach to the molecular basis of hematologic diseases and its translation into improved diagnostics and novel therapeutic strategies. Several representative hemato-oncologic malignancies are analyzed in detail: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, B-cell Non-Hodgkin lymphomas, multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Experts in the field describe the molecular methods applied for modern diagnostics and therapies, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, donor recipient matching, banking of biological material, analyses of post-transplant chimerism, and minimal residual disease monitoring. The volume concludes with an extensive section comprising thorough step-by-step protocols of molecular techniques in hematology, all of them validated in the authors' own laboratories.

This book consists of 29 chapters and is divided into the following four Parts: Part I Molecular biology of Selected Hemato-oncologic Diseases

'Part I MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF SELECTED HEMATO-ONCOLOGIC DISEASES

1. Molecular biology of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Malgorzata Dawidowska, Monika D. Kraszewska, Katarzyna Derwich, and Tomasz Szczepanski

2. Genetic mechanisms and molecular markers of neoplastic transformation in acute myeloid leukemia

Agata A. Filip, Marta Libura, Sebastian Giebel, and Olga Haus

3. Molecular pathogenesis of aggressive B-cell lymphomas

Przemyslaw Juszczynski and Krzysztof Warzocha

4. Molecular biology and classification of multiple myeloma

Anna Dmoszynska and Norbert Grzasko

5. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Anton W. Langerak and Yorick Sandberg
6. The molecular biology of chronic myeloid leukemia

Tomasz Sacha, Kajetana Foryciarz, and Aleksander B. Skotnicki

7. Molecular biology of myelodysplastic syndromes

Francesc Solé

8. Myeloproliferative neoplasms

Andrzej Hellmann, Maria Bieniaszewska, Witold Prejzner, and Aleksandra Leszczynska

Part II DIAGNOSTICS AND MONITORING OF THERAPY OF HEMATO-ONCOLOGIC DISEASES

9. Flow cytometric immunophenotyping as diagnostic tool of hematopoietic malignancies

Lukasz S_dek, Juan Flores-Montero, Joanna Bulsa, Susana Barrena, Julia Almeida, Alberto Orfao, and Tomasz Szczepanski

10. Cytogenetics in hematology

Olga Haus, Anna Poluha, and Katarzyna Skonieczka

11. Monitoring of minimal residual disease in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Tomasz Szczepanski, Malgorzata Dawidowska, and Katarzyna Derwich

12. Gene expression profiling in hematologic malignancies

Przemyslaw Juszczynski, Bjoern Chapuy, Malgorzata Szczepaniak, and Krzysztof Warzocha

Part III MOLECULAR PROCEDURES INVOLVED IN HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION

13. Allogeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells

Jacek Wachowiak

14. Genetic basis of donor-recipient matching in allogeneic transplantation
of hematopoietic stem cells

Jacek Nowak and Jacek Wachowiak

15. Chimerism following allogeneic transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells

Malgorzata Dawidowska, Katarzyna Guz, Ewa Brojer, Jacek Wachowiak, and

Michal Witt

16. Peritransplantation monitoring of minimal residual disease in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Malgorzata Dawidowska, Katarzyna Derwich, and Tomasz Szczepanski

17. Biobanks of cellular material

Wieslaw Wiktor-Jedrzejczak and Elzbieta Urbanowska

Part IV MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTIC PROTOCOLS

18. Biobanking of cellular material

Anna Poluha and El_bieta Urbanowska

19. Isolation of mononuclear cells from human blood and bone marrow by density gradient centrifugation

Malgorzata Dawidowska

20. Molecular techniques commonly used in hematooncolology

Monika D. Kraszewska and Ewa Zi_tkiewicz

21. Genetic methods of HLA typing

Jacek Nowak, Renata Mika-Witkowska, and El_bieta Graczyk-Pol

22. Post-transplant chimerism analysis through STR-PCR and RQ-PCR

Malgorzata Dawidowska, Katarzyna Guz, Agnieszka Orzinska, Justyna Smolarczyk-Wodzynska, Monika D. Kraszewska, and Michal Witt

23. Analysis of minimal residual disease with the use of rearrangements of Ig/TCR genes

through RQ-PCR

M. Dawidowska, Vincent H. J. van der Velden, Michal Witt, and Tomasz Szczepanski

24. Molecular diagnostics of acute myeloblastic leukemia

Marta Libura, Agata A. Filip, and Olga Haus

25. Assessment of the presence and the level of BCR-ABL fusion gene expression and mutational status in ABL kinase domain.

Sylwia Czekalska, Magdalena Zawada, and Izabela Florek
26. Studies of rearrangements and somatic hypermutation of IGHV genes in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Anton W. Langerak, Richard Rosenquist, Paolo Ghia, Chrysoula Belessi, Kostas Stamatopoulos, and Frederic Davi for the ERIC-IgCLL group

27. Molecular biology methods in the diagnosis of multiple myeloma

Anna Dmoszynska and Sylwia Chocholska

28. Molecular methods in myeloproliferative neoplasms

Aleksandra Leszczynska, Witold Prejzner, Maria Bieniaszewska, and