t(2;5) associated with a histiocytic-monocytic neoplasm

We describe a patient with a neoplasm derived from the histiocytic-monocyti c lineage associated with t(2:5) detected by FISH. The patient presented wi th bone marrow involvement, no organomegaly and subsequently developed a le ukaemic picture. The clinical course was aggressive and the patient died fo ur months from diagnosis. Cell morphology. immunophenotype (CD30-, EMA-, Li sozyme+, cy CD68+ and CD45+) and DNA analysis showing germ-line configurati on of the Ig/TCR chain genes ruled out the diagnosis of anaplastic large ce ll lymphoma (ALCL). This unusual case ilustrates that t(2:5) is not exclusi ve for ALCL but may be found in a few cases of rare neoplasms derived from the histiocytic-monocytic cells.