Cellular oncogenes have been localized at the breakpoints of characteristic chromosomal rearrangements occurring in certain hematologic malignancies. This has been reported to result in aberrant expression of the involved oncogenes. Over 90% of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is characterized by a reciprocal translocation that brings c-abl from chromosome 9 to chromosome 22, and c-sis from chromosome 22 to chromosome 9. To investigate the possible role of these two oncogenes in the leukemic process, we studied their expression in a number of fresh samples obtained from patients with various forms of leukemia, by Northern blot analysis using c-onc probes. Seven of 24 samples obtained from patients with either CML or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia expressed a normal 4.0-kilobase (kb) c-sis transcript. C-sis expression was found only in the accelerated/blast phases but not in the chronic phase of CML. All of the CML Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph1+) samples expressed an aberrant 8-kb c-abl transcript. The expression of c-sis in