Similar clinical features in follicular lymphomas with and without breaks in the BCL2 locus

• Published in: Leukemia Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 854 - 860
• Main Authors: Leich, E, Hoster, E, Wartenberg, M, Unterhalt, M, Siebert, R, Koch, K, Klapper, W, Engelhard, M, Puppe, B, Horn, H, Staiger, A M, Stuhlmann-Laeisz, C, Bernd, H W, Feller, A C, Hummel, M, Lenze, D, Stein, H, Hartmann, S, Hansmann, M L, Möller, P, Hiddemann, W, Dreyling, M, Ott, G, Rosenwald, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-04-2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 13/1; 13/105; 14/32; 14/63; 631/208/1405; 631/67/1990; 692/308/575; 692/420/2489/1381/1853; 692/420/755; 692/699/1541; 692/699/67/1990/291/1621/1915; 692/700/478/174; 82/51; Bcl-6 protein; Cancer Research; Chemotherapy; Chromosome Breakage; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 14 - genetics; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 - genetics; Clinical trials; Cohort Studies; Critical Care Medicine; Development and progression; Female; Fluorescence; Fluorescence in situ hybridization; Follow-Up Studies; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Genetic aspects; Genotype; Health aspects; Hematology; Hospitals; Humans; Identification and classification; Intensive; Internal Medicine; Leukemia; Loci; Lymphatic system; Lymphoma; Lymphoma, Follicular - genetics; Lymphoma, Follicular - mortality; Lymphoma, Follicular - pathology; Lymphomas; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Staging; Oncology; original-article; Pathology; Patients; Phenotype; Prognosis; Properties; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 - genetics; Radiation; Radiation therapy; Survival Rate; Translocation, Genetic - genetics; Berlin Germany; Germany
• ISSN: 0887-6924; 1476-5551
• DOI: 10.1038/leu.2015.330

Approximately 15% of follicular lymphomas (FLs) lack breaks in the
BCL2
locus. The aim of this study was to better define molecular and clinical features of
BCL2
-breakpoint/t(14;18)-negative FLs. We studied the presence of
BCL2
,
BCL6
and
MYC
breaks by fluorescence
in situ
hybridization and the expression of BCL2, MUM1, CD10, P53 and Ki67 in large clinical trial cohorts of 540 advanced-stage FL cases and 116 early-stage disease FL patients treated with chemotherapy regimens and radiation, respectively. A total of 86% and 53% of advanced- and early-stage FLs were
BCL2
-breakpoint-positive, respectively. BCL2 was expressed in almost all FLs with
BCL2
break and also in 86% and 69% of BCL2-breakpoint-negative advanced- and early-stage FLs, respectively. CD10 expression was significantly reduced in
BCL2
-breakpoint-negative FLs of all stages and MUM1 and Ki67 expression were significantly increased in
BCL2
-break-negative early-stage FLs. Patient characteristics did not differ between FLs with and without BCL2 breaks and neither did survival times in advanced-stage FLs. These results suggest that the molecular profile differs to some extent between FLs with and without
BCL2
breaks and support the notion that FLs with and without
BCL2
breaks belong to the same lymphoma entity.