title: Detection of immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangements by polymerase chain reaction analysis on lymph node imprints and fine-needle aspirate smears: a comparison of five different imprint preparations.
abstract: Five different preparations of lymph node imprints from 39 patients were studied to determine which preparations are suitable for obtaining interpretable results with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based detection of immunoglobulin heavy chain gene rearrangements and whether there are significant discrepancies in the patterns obtained. The sensitivity and specificity of this test for the diagnosis of B-cell lymphoma were assessed. The five imprints were stained with May-Grünwald-Giemsa (MGG) and coverslipped, stained with MGG but not coverslipped, fixed in acetone only, air-dried only, or immunostained, respectively. The efficiency of the PCR was 0% for immunocytochemically stained slides, 87% for air-dried only and air-dried/MGG-stained/coverslipped slides, 95% for air-dried/MGG-stained/not coverslipped slides, and 100% for imprints that were air-dried/acetone-fixed. There was total agreement in results in 87% cases studied. Discrepancies never resulted in false-positive test results. The overall sensitivity was 50%, and specificity was 100%. Based on these results, we have devised guidelines for tissue treatment when only stained slides are available. In a prospective study with 19 fine-needle aspirate specimens, the efficiency of the PCR increased to 100%, and sensitivity improved to 81%.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Norwegian Radium Hospital, Oslo, Norway. emina-torlakovic@labmed.uio.no
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Torlakovic
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Berner
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Risberg
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D015322:Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte; D005803:Genes, Immunoglobulin; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D008198:Lymph Nodes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains