Molecular methods for detecting t(11;14) translocations in mantle-cell lymphomas

The t(11;14)(q13;q32) and its molecular counterpart, bcl1/JH, are character istic of mantle-cell lymphomas (MCL). Molecular detection of the translocat ion is useful in diagnosis and classification, and also shows promise in de tecting minimal residual disease. The purpose of this study was to determin e the frequency of detecting bcl1/JH by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) com pared with Southern blot analysis in cases proven by cytogenetic analysis t o harbor t(11;14). Southern blot analysis using two probes targeting the ma jor translocation cluster (MTC) and a third probe targeting the p94 region was performed, along with PCR using two different bell MTC primers, on is c ases of MCL known to have t(11;14). Southern blot analysis revealed bell re arrangement in 13 of 18 cases (72%), 12 with MTC breakpoints and 1 with a p 94 breakpoint. The 2.1-kb MTC probe "b" was superior to the smaller 700-bp probe "a" in detecting these rearrangements. The MTC translocation was iden tified by PCR in 10 of 12 cases, and both primer sets that were tested perf ormed equally well. This study illustrates the frequency with which molecul ar methods detect known t(11,14) translocations in MCLs. These results may help clinical laboratory scientists optimize their procedure for detecting bell translocations by molecular methods at initial diagnosis and for purpo ses of detecting minimal residual disease.