APPARENT ABSENCE OF BCL-2 REARRANGEMENT IN 10 SAUDI FOLLICULAR LYMPHOMAS - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT

Specific chromosomal translocations are often found to be associated with distinct types of human neoplasms. The t(14;18) is considered to be a cytogenetic hallmark of the follicular lymphomas found mostly in American patients. This chromosomal translocation occurs through a 3' untranslated region (either major breakpoint region [mbr] or minor cluster region [mcr]) of the bcl-2 proto-oncogene in chromosome 18 and the J(H) region of the immunoglobulin (Ig) gene in chromosome 14. In the present study, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect a fusion DNA fragment generated from bcl-2/J(H) rearrangement either through mbr or mcr in 10 follicular lymphomas in Saudi Arab patients. Surprisingly, none of these cases showed any evidence of bcl-2 gene rearrangement through mbr or mcr. The absence of usual bcl-2/J(H) recombination in Saudi follicular lymphomas is intriguing and may suggest that the occurrence and mode of bcl-2 gene rearrangement in this lymphoma varies in different patient populations.