Development of a second clonally discrete Burkitt's lymphoma in a human
immunodeficiency virus-positive homosexual patient
F Barriga, J Whang-Peng, E Lee, C Morrow, E Jaffe, J Cossman and IT Magrath
Pediatric Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892.
We have studied, at a molecular level, two small non-cleaved cell malignant
lymphomas (Burkitt's type) that were separated by a disease- free interval
of 3 years in a patient infected with the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV). The late occurrence of the apparent relapse suggested that the
second lymphoma might be caused by a separate malignant transformation in a
discrete clone of B cells. Although both tumors expressed the same
immunologic surface markers (mu k) and carried the same t(8;14)
translocation, Southern blot analysis of DNA from each tumor, using
specific restriction endonucleases and probes to the c-myc and the
immunoglobulin heavy chain loci, demonstrated that the chromosomal
breakpoints relevant to the translocations differed between the tumors.
This was corroborated by analysis of the immunoglobulin light-chain
rearrangements in the two tumors. These observations indicate that the
second tumor was not a recurrence of the first but represented the
malignant transformation of a different clone of B cells. Thus late
relapses of certain malignancies in individuals at high risk may be caused
by the malignant transformation of discrete cell clones (i.e., induction of
a new tumor).
Volume 72,
Issue 2,
pp. 792-795,
08/01/1988
Copyright © 1988 by The American Society of Hematology
