Analysis of T-cell receptor gene rearrangement for predicting clinical outcome in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma: a comparison of Southern blot and polymerase chain reaction methods.

Objective: To extend previous observations regarding the prognostic value of analyzing lymph node DNA from patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma for the presence of a monoclonal T-cell population by Southern blot vs polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods.

Design: Inception cohort study from 1982 to 1998. Recruitment of new patients ended in 1994.