Human chronic myelogenous leukaemia is characterized by a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 9 and 22 resulting in an abbreviated form of chromosome 22 and the transfer of the abl cellular oncogene from chromosome 9 into the bcr gene of chromosome 22. Characterization of an 8-kilobase RNA specific to chronic myelogenous leukaemia shows it to be a fused transcript of the two genes. The fused protein that would be produced is probably involved in the malignant process.