THE CLINICAL RELEVANCE OF T(14-18)/BCL-2 REARRANGEMENT AND DEL 6Q IN DIFFUSE LARGE CELL LYMPHOMA AND IMMUNOBLASTIC LYMPHOMA

Background: t(14;18)/bcl-2 gene rearrangement (R) is claimed to impart a worse rate of complete remission and disease-free survival in diffuse large cell lymphoma (DLCL). DEL 6q has also been associated with poor outcome. Design: Retrospective study of 54 patients with either diffuse large cell or immunoblastic lymphoma who had cytogenetics and/or molecular studies performed. Results: Patient characteristics, complete remission rate, and time to treatment failure (TIF) were similar at three year follow-up for groups with and without t (14;18)/BCL-2R. Survival was worse for the former but the difference was not statistically significant. For DEL 6q, patient characteristics and survival rates were similar at three year follow-up for patients with and without the abnormality. TTF was worse for the former but this was not statistically significant. Conclusion: This study, with equal or greater number of patients with t (14;18) than previous reports, fails to show a worse prognosis for patients with the t(14;18) chromosomal abnormality. A definite association will await further accrual of patients and a meaningul multivariate analysis.