Cytogenetics and FISH in Hematologic Malignancies

Cytogenetics has been there for ages. In 1842, Swiss botanist Karl Nägeli first discovered chromosomes in pollen. From 1960, when the first genetic abnormality, the Philadelphia chromosome, was identified in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) by Dr. Peter Nowell and Dr. David Hungerford, to the development of FISH in the 1980s, and to the present day, where the classification of tumors incorporates genetic abnormalities as a key component, cytogenetics has stood the test of time. Despite NGS creating the maximum buzz in the world of hematology and solid organ malignancies, this chapter will reiterate, with evidence, that cytogenetics is an essential part of diagnosis, prognostication, and disease follow-up in hematological malignancies.