Detection of neuroblastoma cells in bone marrow and peripheral blood at diagnosis by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction for tyrosine hydroxylase mRNA

Abstract

Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction amplification of TH mRNA was a sensitive and specific method of detecting occult neuroblastoma cells in BM and PB samples. Neuroblastoma cells could be detected by this method in some BM samples that had no cytologic evidence of tumor cells and in some PB samples at the time of diagnosis. The clinical significance of these very low levels of neuroblastoma cells detected by RT-PCR requires further investigation.