Bcl-2 gene rearrangement in Jordanian follicular and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.

Objective: Follicular lymphoma (FL), a common subtype of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in the West, represents a rare subtype in Jordan. Bcl-2 gene rearrangement plays a crucial role in the biology of the vast majority of FL and a substantial number of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the West; but its presence has not been studied in Jordan. Our aims are to document if bcl-2 gene rearrangement exists in Jordanian FL and DLBCL, and if present to determine whether its frequency among these lymphomas is different from the West and therefore may be responsible for some of the epidemiological differences seen between Jordan and the West.