Monitoring the development of resistance to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in the initial chronic phase (CP) is crucial for limiting the progression of unresponsive patients to terminal phase of blast crisis (BC). This study for the first time demonstrates the potential of Raman spectroscopy to sense the resistant phenotype. Currently recommended resistance screening strategy include detection of BCR-ABL1 transcripts, kinase domain mutations, complex chromosomal abnormalities and BCR-ABL1 gene amplification. The techniques used for these tests are expensive, technologically demanding and have limited availability in resource-poor countries. In India, this could be a reason for more patients reporting to clinics with advanced disease. A single method which can identify resistant cells irrespective of the underlying mechanism would be a practical screening strategy. During our analysis of imatinib-sensitive and -resistant K562 cells, by array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH), copy number variations specific to resistant cells were detected. aCGH is technologically demanding, expensive and therefore not suitable to serve as a single economic test. We therefore explored whether DNA finger-print analysis of Raman hyperspectral data could capture these alterations in the genome, and demonstrated that it could indeed segregate imatinib-sensitive and -resistant cells. Raman spectroscopy, due to availability of portable instruments, ease of spectrum acquisition and possibility of centralized analysis of transmitted data, qualifies as a preliminary screening tool in resource-poor countries for imatinib resistance in CML. This study provides a proof of principle for a single assay for monitoring resistance to imatinib, available for scrutiny in clinics.
Keywords: MCR analysis; Raman spectroscopy; array comparative genomic hybridization; chronic myeloid leukemia; resistance screening.