BCL-1 TRANSLOCATIONS ARE FREQUENT IN THE PARAIMMUNOBLASTIC VARIANT OFSMALL LYMPHOCYTIC LYMPHOMA

To evaluate the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction analysis of tr anslocations involving the bcl-1 and bcl-2 genes in variants of CD5-po sitive B-cell. lymphomas, we analyzed four cases classified as the par aimmunoblastic variant of small lymphocytic lymphoma This neoplasm, or iginally identified as an aggressive, diffuse, B-Lineage lymphoma rela ted to small lymphocytic lymphoma, can be confused with variants of ma ntle cell lymphoma (an immunophenotypically and morphologically simila r neoplasm), No translocations involving bcl-2 and the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene were identified; two cases had translocations involvi ng the bcl-1 and the immunoglobulin heavy chain genes, The frequency o f finding this translocation suggests that these categories of neoplas ms might be extremely difficult to distinguish or that a closer relati onship between these neoplasms exists than was initially proposed.