|
|
 Previous Article | Table of Contents | Next Article 
Blood, 15 June 2002, Vol. 99, No. 12, pp. 4265-4275
PERSPECTIVE
Insights into the molecular pathogenesis of follicular lymphoma
arising from analysis of geographic variation
James J. Biagi and
John F. Seymour
From the Department of Haematology, The Peter MacCallum
Cancer Institute, East Melbourne, Australia.
Incidence rates of follicular lymphoma (FL) inexplicably vary
markedly between Western and Asian countries. A hallmark of FL is the
bcl-2 translocation, characterized by 1 of 2 common breakpoints known as major breakpoint region (MBR) and minor cluster region (mcr). We analyzed previously published data to compare rates of
bcl-2 translocation in FL across geographic regions. Available data from the literature suggest that the incidence of
bcl-2 in healthy persons in the absence of FL may be as
high as 50% in Western and Asian populations. However, in FL our
results show that the frequency of bcl-2 positivity was
significantly higher for US than for Asian populations
(P < .0001). This pattern persisted for MBR and mcr
subgroups. We conclude that a significant gradient exists in the
bcl-2 frequency between these FL populations. We therefore
suggest that the relatively low incidence of FL in Asian populations is
caused not by a lower frequency of bcl-2 rearrangements in
healthy populations but by distinct molecular pathways developing in
different geographic regions that nonetheless culminate in FL, which is
morphologically similar but molecularly distinct. Studies demonstrating
differences in clinical characteristics according to the presence or
absence of bcl-2 rearrangements support this concept. Thus
we hypothesize that FL may in fact be a heterogeneous malignancy
encompassing entities with distinct molecular pathogenesis and
potentially distinct clinical manifestations. If these findings were
confirmed in prospective studies, it would imply that different etiologic or genetic factors might influence the development of FL
across separate regions.
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
S-S Chuang
Significant increase in the relative frequency of follicular lymphoma in Taiwan in the early 21st century
J. Clin. Pathol.,
July 1, 2008;
61(7):
879 - 880.
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. de Jong
Molecular Pathogenesis of Follicular Lymphoma: A Cross Talk of Genetic and Immunologic Factors
J. Clin. Oncol.,
September 10, 2005;
23(26):
6358 - 6363.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. D. Gascoyne
Hematopathology Approaches to Diagnosis and Prognosis of Indolent B-Cell Lymphomas
Hematology,
January 1, 2005;
2005(1):
299 - 306.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Roulland, P. Lebailly, Y. Lecluse, M. Briand, D. Pottier, and P. Gauduchon
Characterization of the t(14;18) BCL2-IGH Translocation in Farmers Occupationally Exposed to Pesticides
Cancer Res.,
March 15, 2004;
64(6):
2264 - 2269.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. Giannelli, S. Moscarella, C. Giannini, P. Caini, M. Monti, L. Gragnani, R. G. Romanelli, V. Solazzo, G. Laffi, G. La Villa, et al.
Effect of antiviral treatment in patients with chronic HCV infection and t(14;18) translocation
Blood,
August 15, 2003;
102(4):
1196 - 1201.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
| |
