What Are the Clinical Implications of Gene Fusions?
Gene fusions can have various clinical implications:
- Cancer: Many cancers are characterized by specific gene fusions. For instance, the BCR-ABL fusion gene is a hallmark of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). - Targeted Therapy: Identifying gene fusions can guide the use of targeted therapies. Drugs like imatinib are designed to specifically inhibit the abnormal proteins produced by fusion genes. - Prognosis: The presence of certain gene fusions can be used to predict disease prognosis. For example, EWS-FLI1 fusion in Ewing's sarcoma is associated with a particular clinical outcome.