MUTATION OF THE RAS GENES IS A RARE GENETIC EVENT IN THE HISTOLOGIC TRANSFORMATION OF FOLLICULAR LYMPHOMA

The role of ras gene mutations in the progression of follicular lympho ma has been ascertained by SSCP-PCR and sequencing. A total of 40 tran sformed lymphomas were studied, 16 of which had a matched preceding lo w-grade biopsy. Only one transformed lymphoma was found to have a miss ense mutation at codon 12 of N-ras, resulting in an amino acid change of glycine to serine. We conclude that mutation within the ras gene fa mily is a rare event in the transformation of follicular lymphoma.