21) rearrangement by detection of TEL-AML1 transcript in patients with childhood ALL.     ///    "The patients with BCR-ABL, chromosome 11q23 rearrangement and T-ALL patients did not express TEL-AML1 transcripts. "    ///    "Although TEL-AML1 transcripts disappeared soon after the beginning of chemotherapy in three of the five patients, one patient continued to express them for up to 21 months without recurrence and remained in continuous complete remission for seven years after the cessation of chemotherapy. "    ///    Persistence of TEL-AML1 transcript in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in long-term remission..     ///    "TEL-AML1 transcripts were searched for in 34 ALL patients, including six in relapse consecutively diagnosed at our institution between 1991 and 1997. "    ///    Further studies are needed to evaluate the relation between the TEL-AML1 transcript and prognosis..     ///    "Moreover, MRD in five patients with TEL-AML1 transcripts were analyzed in serial samples. "    ///    TEL-AML1 transcripts were found in five (19%) of 27 patients with B precursor ALL.     ///    "For most patients, the presence of TEL-AML1 transcripts suggests excellent chemosensitivity and a favorable prognosis, but some patients with these transcripts have a different outcome. "    ///    The prognostic significance of TEL-AML1 transcript remains controversial.     ///    The present study suggests the possibility that a persistence of MRD is not necessarily related to a relapse of ALL with TEL-AML1 fusion. 