Deletions of 9p21-22, that frequently include the alpha-, beta- and omega-IFN gene cluster, are common in malignant diseases such as acute lymphocytic leukemia, malignant melanoma and malignant glioma.
Scanning densitometry and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis were used to study the alpha-, beta-, gamma-, and omega-interferon (IFN) genes in malignant cells from 11 children with acute lymphocytic leukemia and in one cell line of T-cell origin.