title: Reverse transcription-PCR for t(11;18)(q21;q21) staging and monitoring in mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Subclinical dissemination as well as persistence after therapy may be difficult to assess on clinical and histologic examinations in patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. We have analyzed the use of reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) for the detection of t(11;18)(q21;q21) in histologically infiltrated and normal biopsies at diagnosis and during follow-up to determine its clinical and prognostic effect.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one patients with t(11;18)(q21;q21)+ MALT lymphoma were included in this retrospective study. Presence of t(11;18)(q21;q21) was determined by RT-PCR done on 316 biopsies of various tissues obtained during staging and follow-up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infiltration with lymphoma was histologically detected in 67 of 316 biopsies, whereas molecular infiltration was established in 104 of 316 biopsies. All histologically positive specimens were also positive in RT-PCR. There was a good concordance (P = 0.0001) between histology and RT-PCR at the time of disease presentation with only one further infiltration site identified by RT-PCR. In 8 of 12 patients with persistent lymphoma, RT-PCR revealed tumor infiltration in histologically unsuspected sites. Eight of nine treated patients with histologic and clinical complete remission (CR) remained RT-PCR positive. CR on RT-PCR was achieved later than histologic CR (between 13-59 months) without any further therapy in five of these eight patients; only one patient with persistent t(11;18)(q21;q21) relapsed histologically.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows the potential of RT-PCR for t(11;18)(q21;q21) done on routine paraffin-embedded specimens to identify disseminated disease in tissues otherwise not diagnostic of MALT lymphoma involvement. T(11;18)(q21;q21) persistence in patients with clinical and histologic CR does not necessarily require therapeutic intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Division of Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine I, Vienna General Hospital, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. berthold.streubel@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Berthold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Streubel
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huber
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wöhrer
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chott
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raderer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11; D002891:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018442:Lymphoma, B-Cell, Marginal Zone / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014178:Translocation, Genetic