We have investigated the involvement of tumor suppressor genes (p53 and RB1) and dominantly acting oncogenes (Ras family genes) in BCR/ABL positive and negative chronic myeloproliferative disorders (CMPD) at different stages of the disease, including 26 cases of BCR/ABL+ chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) blast crisis, 9 myelosclerosis with myeloid metaplasia, 4 polycythemia vera, 10 essential thrombocythemia, 1 juvenile CML, and 8 BCR/ABL- CML. The presence of mutations in p53 exons 5 through 9, as well as in RB1 exons 10-27 and in N-, K-, H-Ras exons 1 and 2 was tested by the PCR-Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism technique and by PCR-Direct Sequencing. In addition, Southern blot analysis was used to investigate the occurrence of gross rearrangements in the p53 gene as well as loss of heterozygosity at 17p13, the site of p53. Acute phase BCR/ABL-CMPD cases displayed a high frequency of p53 (2/7) and Ras (3/7) lesions, whereas BCR/ABL- CMPD in chronic phase displayed only germline p53 and Ras sequences. Conversely, p53 inactivation was restricted to only 1/26 cases of BCR/ABL+ CML blast crisis. No alterations in the RB1 gene were detected in any of the cases analyzed. These data indicate that p53 inactivation and/or Ras activation might play a role in acute transformation of BCR/ABL- CMPD and that the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression may be different in BCR/ABL+ versus BCR/ABL-CMPD.