Question

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is used in the treatment of a tumour associated with which genetic abnormality?

• A. BCR-ABL
• B. PML-RARA
• C. CMYC
• D. CEBPA

Hint:

Differentiation therapy targets the leukemia defined by t(15;17).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Mnemonic anchor: ATRA treats APL, and APL means t(15;17) giving the PML-RARA fusion. The retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) part of the fusion is exactly what ATRA acts on, releasing the differentiation block so the arrested promyelocytes mature. Now eliminate the rest: BCR-ABL is the t(9;22) Philadelphia chromosome of CML, treated with imatinib, not ATRA. CMYC dysregulation defines Burkitt lymphoma. CEBPA is a recurrent mutation in some AML cases but is not the ATRA target. Only PML-RARA links to ATRA-responsive leukemia, so the answer is PML-RARA.