Appraisal of current technologies for the study of genetic alterations in hematologic malignancies with a focus on chromosome analysis and structural variants

During the last five decades, chromosome analysis identified recurring translocations and inversions in leukemias and lymphomas, which led to cloning of genes at the breakpoints that contribute to oncogenesis. Such molecular cytogenetic methods as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), copy number (CN) arrays or optical genome mapping (OGM) have augmented standard chromosome analysis. The use of both cytogenetic and molecular methods, such as reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and next generation sequencing (NGS), including whole-genome sequencing (WGS), discloses alterations that not only delineate separate WHO disease entities but also constitute independent prognostic factors, whose use in the clinic improves management of patients with hematologic neoplasms.