Identification of follicular lymphoma by polymerase chain reaction amplification of the t(14;18) translocation: An improved method for staging of malignancy and detection of minimal residual disease
- Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
60 to 85% of follicular non-Hodgkin`s lymphomas have a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 14 and 18 (t(14q21;18q32)). As a result of this translocation, the joining region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (J{sub H}) on chromosome 14 is juxtaposed to the bcl-2 gene on chromosome 18. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification across the translocation breakpoint may be used to detect follicular lymphoma cells in the peripheral blood and bone marrow, as morphological examination for lymphoma cells is extremely insensitive. We performed PCR assays with a universal J{sub H} primer and pairs of major breakpoint region (MBR) primers or minor cluster region (MCR) primers from the bcl-2 gene. PCR products were then visualized on ethidium-stained agarose gels, along with size markers and appropriate positive and negative controls. We began by comparing the PCR assay to Southern blot analysis and found that Southern blot analysis detected 9 translocations in 24 follicular lymphomas (37.5%), while PCR amplification detected 13 (58.3%), making it the more sensitive technique. By using adjacent MBR and MCR primer pairs in the PCR assay, we were also able to attain very high specificities (>95%). As detection of minimal residual disease after therapy is likely important for the prognosis and further management of these patients, we decided to use our PCR assay to evaluate peripheral blood stem cell preparations from patients undergoing autologous bone marrow transplantation. Of the 26 patients analyzed thus far, 4 (15%) have been found positive for MBR translocations. These results indicate that PCR amplification of the t(14;18) translocation is a sensitive and specific method for detection of follicular lymphoma cells, and therefore has potential application as a tool not only for the staging but also for the management of this malignancy.
- OSTI ID:
- 133534
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-941009-; ISSN 0002-9297; TRN: 95:005313-0262
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 55, Issue Suppl.3; Conference: 44. annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, Montreal (Canada), 18-22 Oct 1994; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1994
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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