title: Oral follicular lymphomas. A short report of 8 cases with assessment of the IGH/BCL2 gene fusion with fluorescence in situ hybridization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To present the clinicopathologic features and confirm the presence of the IGH/BCL2 gene fusion in an oral follicular lymphoma (OFL) series.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cases of OFLs were retrieved from a data base of non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was performed to confirm the IGH/BCL2 fusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight (8.7%) of 92 NHL were OFLs. Six (75%) patients were male and two female (mean age: 73.4 ± 14.8). The most frequent site was the palate. Five of the 8 patients are alive and without disease. Five (three grade 1 and two grade 2) of six successfully hybridized cases revealed the IGH/BCL2 gene fusion. The sixth case, a grade 3 follicular lymphoma (FL), demonstrated multiple BCL2 signals without IGH/BCL2 fusion.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  OFLs exhibit an indolent clinical behavior. In the present study, 5/6 cases in which FISH was successful had an IGH/BCL2 fusion as would result from the t(14; 18)(q32; q21) translocation commonly seen in FL of extraoral sites.
authors: Department of Oral Pathology and Medicine, School of Dentistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
authors: Prokopios P
authors: PP
authors: Argyris
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Dolan
authors: Evangelia
authors: E
authors: Piperi
authors: Konstantinos I
authors: KI
authors: Tosios
authors: Stefan E
authors: SE
authors: Pambuccian
authors: Ioannis G
authors: IG
authors: Koutlas
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D050438:Genes, Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain / Q000502:physiology*; D019254:Genes, bcl-2 / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D008224:Lymphoma, Follicular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D050596:Oncogene Fusion / Q000235:genetics*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014178:Translocation, Genetic
chemical_list: D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2