Analysis of TET2 Exon 3 Mutation in a Small Population of Iranian Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients

Introduction: Aging is an inevitable biological process and is accompanied by several diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and diabetes, which are among worldwide leading causes of death. One of the prevalent cancers among older adults is acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a clonal and heterogeneous blood cancer. Old AML patients have poor prognosis that underlines the importance of finding new biomarkers and treatment for these patients. Ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2) is one of frequently mutated genes in AML patients and specifically, in elderly patients. Therefore, in this exploratory study we aimed to analyze the existence of mutations in the third exon of TET2 in a small cohort of Iranian AML patients.
Methods: Whole blood samples were collected from 16 newly diagnosed AML patients older than 40 years, excluding AML-M3 patients. DNA was extracted from blood samples and the third exon of TET2 was amplified using PCR. Sanger sequencing was performed on the amplified exon 3 samples.
Results: The included patients were predominantly composed of M2 and M1 FAB subtypes. Sanger sequencing showed no sequence variations in the exon 3 of TET2, which may be due to several factors, including sample size, and population variations.
Conclusion: Larger cohorts and the implementation of more comprehensive sequencing strategies are required to further elucidate the prognostic value of TET2 mutations in Iranian AML patients.