Clinical Significance of the t(14;18) And BCL2 Overexpression in Follicular Large Cell Lymphoma

Abstract

Follicular large cell lymphoma (FLCL) is an aggressive disease that responds to anthracy-cline-containing chemotherapy much like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Since the t(14; 18) and/or bcl2 protein expression are less common in FLCL than in its low-grade counterparts, we sought to determine whether these features were predictive of survival as in DLBCL. We studied 50 patients with FLCL who were treated with curative intent. The t(14; 18) was found by cytogenetic analysis in 56% of the patients and bcl2 protein was expressed by the tumor cells in 73%, but neither was predictive of survival. However, abnormalities of chromosome 17p and the presence of trisomy 21 were adverse predictors of survival, as were a number of clinical features. We conclude that neither the absence of the t(14; 18) nor the lack of bcl2 expression explain the good response of a subset of patients with FLCL to curative therapy.

Key Words:

• Follicular large cell lymphoma
• follicular lymphoma
• non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
• cytogenet-ics
• t(14; 18)
• BCL2