bcl-1 translocations are frequent in the paraimmunoblastic variant of small lymphocytic lymphoma.
To evaluate the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction analysis of translocations involving the bcl-1 and bcl-2 genes in variants of CD5-positive B-cell lymphomas, we analyzed four cases classified as the paraimmunoblastic variant of small lymphocytic lymphoma. This neoplasm, originally identified as an aggressive, diffuse, B-lineage lymphoma related to small lymphocytic lymphoma, can be confused with variants of mantle cell lymphoma (an immunophenotypically and morphologically similar neoplasm). No translocations involving bcl-2 and the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene were identified; two cases had translocations involving the bcl-1 and the immunoglobulin heavy chain genes. The frequency of finding this translocation suggests that these categories of neoplasms might be extremely difficult to distinguish or that a closer relationship between these neoplasms exists than was initially proposed.
Grosso
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LE
Department of Pathology, Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, Missouri 63104, USA.
Kelley
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PD
D000368:Aged; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D019938:Cyclin D1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics; D014178:Translocation, Genetic
D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D019938:Cyclin D1