Definition

A peptide vaccine consisting of the bcr-abl b3a2 fusion oncoprotein, frequently expressed in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), with potential antineoplastic activity. Vaccination with the bcr-abl (b3a2)-derived peptide vaccine may stimulate the host immune system to mount a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response against tumor cells that express the bcr-abl b3a2 fusion protein. Fusion genes in CML typically result from the fusion of either BCR exon b2 or BCR exon b3 to ABL exon a2, a ‘b3a2’ or a ‘b2a2’ fusion.