Published online before print October 2, 2008

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Journal of Molecular Diagnostics 2008, Vol. 10, No. 6
Copyright © 2008 American Society for Investigative Pathology & Association for Molecular Pathology
DOI: 10.2353/jmoldx.2008.080054

The Frequency of Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Gene and T-Cell Receptor -Chain Gene Rearrangements and Epstein-Barr Virus in ALK⁺ and ALK^– Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma and Other Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas

From the Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

We previously identified a relatively high frequency of B-cell proliferations along with simultaneous T-cell receptor -chain gene (TRG) and immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IGH) rearrangements in a series of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and peripheral T-cell lymphoma, unspecified. Here, we report on a series of 74 peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) cases composed entirely of specific PTCL subtypes, including 28 cases of ALK⁺ anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL), 35 cases of ALK^– ALCL, and 11 cases that represent other specific PTCL subtypes. We performed IGH and TRG gene rearrangement studies and in situ hybridization for Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to determine the frequency of IGH clonality and to investigate the relationship between EBV, clonality, and associated B-cell proliferations. Using BIOMED-2 PCR assays, we detected TRG clones in 64 of 74 (86%) cases and IGH clones in 6 of 74 (8%) cases, with all IGH-positive cases exhibiting a concurrent TRG clone. Despite the detection of occasional IGH clones, there was no correlation between IGH clonality and EBV, and B-cell proliferations were not identified in any of the cases. These findings suggest that other factors contribute to IGH clonality and demonstrate that, in the absence of an associated B-cell proliferation, IGH clonality occurs infrequently (8%) in specific PTCL subtypes.