what is the philadelphia chromosome

The Philadelphia chromosome or Philadelphia translocation is a specific genetic abnormality in chromosome 22 of leukemia cancer cells (particularly chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells). This chromosome is defective and unusually short because of reciprocal translocation of genetic material between chromosome 9 and chromosome 22, and contains a fusion gene called BCR-ABL1

This gene is the ABL1 gene of chromosome 9 juxtaposed onto the BCR gene of chromosome 22, coding for a hybrid protein: a tyrosine kinase signalling protein that is “always on”, causing the cell to divide uncontrollably.

The presence of this translocation is a highly sensitive test for CML, since 95% of people with CML have this abnormality (the remainder have either a cryptic translocation that is invisible on G-banded chromosome preparations, or a variant translocation involving another chromosome or chromosomes as well as the long arm of chromosomes 9 and 22). However, the presence of the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome is not sufficiently specific to diagnose CML, since it is also found in acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL, 25–30% in adult and 2–10% in pediatric cases) and occasionally in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).