MYC status determination in aggressive B-cell lymphoma: the impact of FISH probe selection.

Aims: To assess how hybridization probe design may affect MYC status determination in Burkitt lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Methods And Results: We compared the results obtained with one dual-fusion and two break-apart commercial probes in a retrospective series of 91 aggressive B-cell lymphomas. All three probes were able to detect the IGH-MYC translocation in every case bearing it (13/13).

Immunohistochemical detection of MYC protein correlates with MYC gene status in aggressive B cell lymphomas.

Aims: MYC gene translocation entails a bad prognosis and a poor response to rituximab-cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (R-CHOP) in diffuse large B cell lymphomas (DLBCL), and more intensive chemotherapy regimens could be more effective in those cases. Its evaluation requires cytogenetic or fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) studies, which are expensive and not widely available. The aim of this work was to find an immunohistochemical marker able to be used as a screening tool to identify MYC translocations.