Abstract Defective DNA repair machinery which is a consequence of chromosomal or molecular alterations is associated with variety of diseases including solid tumors. Cytogenetic analysis is an important tool in diagnosis and treatment of hematologic malignancies. Our aim is to understand the role of microsatellite instability in initiation and progression of blood cancers. Here we hypothesize that leukemogenic cells may carry defective repair mechanisms that contribute to other genomic instabilities. In order to explore the possible role of microsatellite instability (MSI) in leukemia and lymphoma, eight different DNA repair genes involved in mismatch repair (MMR) and direct reversal of damage (DRD) were analyzed in K562 (CML), Molt-4 (T-ALL) and Daudi (Burkitt’s lymphoma) cell lines. Fragment analysis was carried out using novel primers considering repeat motifs enriched with (A)n, (CA)n and (AT)n for instability. Almost all the cell lines showed moderate to high level of microsatellite instability and exhibited a shift in selected repeat regions indicating possible loss (66.7%) (MSH2, MSH4, MSH6, MLH1, MLH3, PMS1) or gain (25%) (MSH3, MGMT) of nucleotide repeats as compared to normal DNA. The K562, Philadelphia negative CML cell line appeared to be microsatellite stable (MSS) for genes MSH2 and MLH1. Treatment induced microsatellite instability is known in leukemic patient cells as also seen in Molt-4 cells. Our present and previous observations suggest that MSI is a non-random event in leukemia/lymphoma which needs confirmatory future studies in newly diagnosed untreated patient samples. Considering the fact that both MSI and MSS represents two distinct molecular pathways of carcinogenesis, assessment of MSI, if added as distinct diagnostic criteria, can possibly refine early detection and help in identifying novel targets in management of hematologic malignancies. Citation Format: Priyanjali Bhattacharya, Naveed Anjum Chikan, Arati Sharma, Dhimant Desai, Charyguly Annageldiyev, Pinaki Patel, Trupti N. Patel. Identification of microsatellite instability in hematologic malignant cell lines [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1741.