Sensitive and accurate quantification of JAK2 V617F mutation in chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms by droplet digital PCR

The JAK2 V617F mutation can be detected with a high frequency in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). MPN treatment efficiency can be assessed by JAK2 V617F quantification. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) is widely used for JAK2 V617F quantification. Emerging alternative technologies like digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) have been described to overcome inherent qPCR limitations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of ddPCR for JAK2 V617F quantification in patient samples with MPN. Sensitivity and specificity were established by using DNA artificial mixtures. In addition, 101 samples from 59 patients were evaluated for JAK2 V617F mutation. Limit of detection was 0.01 % for both qPCR and ddPCR. The JAK2 V617F mutation was detected in 43 out of 59 patients by both PCR platforms. However, in 14 % of the samples, JAK2 V617F mutation was detected only with ddPCR. This 14 % of discrepant samples were from patients shortly after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Percentage of JAK2 V617F mutation measured by qPCR and ddPCR in clinical samples showed a high degree of correlation (Spearman r: 0.9637 p < 0.001) and an excellent agreement assessed by Bland-Altman analysis. In conclusion, ddPCR is a suitable, precise, and sensitive method for quantification of the JAK 2 V617F mutation.