METHODS: Blood and saliva samples were collected from 27 patients diagnosed with acute leukemia in Riyadh City, KSA. DNA was extracted, and 15 STR loci were amplified.
RESULTS: Approximately 59.3% of patients with leukemia exhibited mutations at the STR loci. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) occurred in 40.7% of the patients at D19S433, D16S539, vWA, D13S317, TH01, FGA, and D2S1338. Microsatellite instability (MSI) was detected in 22.2% of patients at TPOX, vWA, D19S433, D16S539, and D18S51. D19S433 and D16S539 were the most affected loci, exhibiting an alteration percentage of 18.52%, followed by vWA (11.11%); in contrast, D2S1338, D18S51, and TPOX were the least affected loci, showing a mutation percentage of 3.7%. D13S317, TH01, and FGA showed moderate genetic mutation (7.41%). CSF1PO, D21S11, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D8S1179, and amelogenin did not show genetic changes in all samples. The overall genetic variability between saliva and blood samples significantly differed (P