Clinical validation of a type-specific real-time quantitative human papillomavirus PCR against the performance of hybrid capture 2 for the purpose of cervical cancer screening.

To be acceptable for use in cervical cancer screening, a new assay that detects DNA of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) types must demonstrate high reproducibility and performance not inferior to that of a clinically validated HPV test. In the present study, a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay targeting the E6 and E7 genes of hrHPV was compared with Hybrid Capture 2 (hc2) in a Belgian cervical cancer screening setting. In women >30 years old, the sensitivity and specificity for intraepithelial neoplasias of grade 2 or worse (93 cases of cervical intraepithelial neoplasias of grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and 1,207 cases of no CIN or CIN1) were 93.6% and 95.6%, respectively, and those of hc2 were 83.9% and 94.5%, respectively {relative sensitivity of qPCR/hc2 = 1.12 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.01 to 1.23]; relative specificity = 1.01 [95% CI, 0.99 to 1.03]}. A score test showed that the sensitivity (P < 0.0001) and specificity (P < 0.0001) of the qPCR assay were not inferior to those of hc2 at the required thresholds of 90% and 98%, respectively. The overall agreement of hrHPV positivity between the two runs of the qPCR tests was 98.7% (95% CI, 97.5 to 99.4%), with a kappa value of 0.96 (95% CI, 0.83 to 1.00). The qPCR assay used in this study can be considered a reliable HPV assay that fulfills the clinical validation criteria defined for use in cervical cancer screening.

Translocation t(1;6)(p35.3;p25.2): a new recurrent aberration in "unmutated" B-CLL.

Although reciprocal chromosomal translocations are not typical for B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), we identified the novel t(1;6)(p35.3;p25.2) in eight patients with this disorder. Interestingly, all cases showed lack of somatically mutated IgV(H). Clinical, morphological, immunologic, and genetic features of these patients are described. Briefly, the age ranged from 33 to 81 years (median: 62.5 years) and the sex ratio was 6M:2F. Most of the patients (6/8) presented with advanced clinical stage. Therapy was required in seven cases. After a median follow-up of 28 months, five patients are alive and three died from disease evolution. Three cases developed transformation into diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Translocation t(1;6) was found as the primary karyotypic abnormality in three patients. Additional chromosomal aberrations included changes frequently found in unmutated B-CLL, that is, del(11)(q), trisomy 12 and 17p aberrations. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis performed in seven cases allowed us to map the t(1;6) breakpoints to the 1p35.3 and 6p25.2 chromosomal bands, respectively. The latter breakpoint was located in the genomic region coding for MUM1/IRF4, one of the key regulators of lymphocyte development and proliferation, suggesting involvement of this gene in the t(1;6). Molecular characterization of the t(1;6)(p35.3;p25.2), exclusively found in unmutated subtype of B-CLL, is in progress.

Fusion of ETV6 to MDS1/EVI1 as a result of t(3;12)(q26;p13) in myeloproliferative disorders.

We identified a fusion between ETV6 on 12p13 and MDS1/EVI1 on 3q26 in a t(3;12)(q26;p13) found in two cases of myeloproliferative disorder. The resulting chimeric transcript consists of the first two exons of ETV6 fused to MDS1 sequences, which in turn is fused to the second exon of the EVI1 gene. It has recently been reported that MDS1 can be expressed in normal tissues both as a single gene and fused to EVI1. ETV6 does not contribute any known functional domain to the predicted fusion protein. Association with blast crisis and myelodysplastic syndrome-derived leukemia, bad prognosis, and relative complex karyotype are in agreement with observations made in other cases of t(3;12)(q26;p13). Furthermore, a comparison can be made with the formation of an AML1/MDS1/EVI1 fusion gene in translocations (3;21)(q26;q22).

Cytogenetic analysis of B cell chronic lymphoid leukemias classified according to morphologic and immunophenotypic (FAB) criteria.

609 patients with B cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorder were studied with the primary aim of analyzing the cytogenetic profile of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemias and, if possible, define correlations with FAB classification of these diseases. Morphological and immunological studies were performed according to criteria proposed by the FAB group. A panel of monoclonal antibodies, including at least sIg, CD19, CD5, and FMC7 was used. Interpretations of morphology and cytogenetics were made independently. When applying strict FAB criteria 65% of the cases could be classified. Most of them (44%) were chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The cases not satisfying strict FAB criteria could be divided into two groups: one closely related to CLL, and here defined as atypical CLL (aCLL) (21%) and another group consisting of patients with leukemic manifestations of B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (LL) (14%). Analyzable metaphases were obtained in 89% of patients. Clonal abnormalities were present in 35% of patients. The most frequent chromosomal changes were abnormalities of chromosome 11q (60 cases), trisomy 12 (46 cases) and structural rearrangements of chromosome 14q (44 cases). Statistical associations with FAB subtypes were found: aCLL and trisomy 12 (P < 0.00001); mantle zone lymphoma (MZL) and t(11;14) (P < 0.00001) and del(6)(q) (P < 0.0001); CLL/mixed cell type and del(6)(q) (P < 0.002); follicular lymphoma and t(14;18) (P < 0.00001); splenic lymphoma with villous lymphocytes and del(7)(q) (P < 0.0004); leukemic lymphoma (LL) with rearrangements in chromosome 9q (P < 0.0001) and trisomy of 3 (P < 0.001). Chronic lymphocytic leukemia was not statistically associated with any specific chromosomal abnormality. However, this subtype showed a high incidence of del(11)(q) and rearrangements of 13q. This study confirms the value of cytogenetic investigation in the diagnosis of these disorders and may provide some new elements for future refinement of the FAB classification in mature B cell lymphocytic disorders.

Small B cell NHL and their leukemic counterpart: differences in subtyping and assessment of leukemic spread.

Three subtypes of small lymphocytic lymphoma were studied, namely B cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and follicle center lymphoma (FCL). Agreement between tissue diagnosis, based on the proposal for a revised European-American classification of lymphoid neoplasms from the International Lymphoma Study Group, and the cytomorphological diagnosis on peripheral blood and/or bone marrow smears, using the proposals for the classification of chronic (mature) B and T lymphoid leukemias of the French-American-British Cooperative Group, was studied. Full agreement was found in 90% of the CLL and 82% of the FCL cases. In MCL cases, agreement was 65% including all cases classified as intermediate/mantle zone lymphoma according to FAB criteria. The incidence of bone marrow involvement detection in trephines compared to smears was equal in CLL (both 100%) and slightly higher in MCL (56 vs 48.5%); in FCL, however, trephine biopsies provided more reliable material (71 vs 35%).

"Small" B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with splenomegaly at presentation are either mantle cell lymphoma or marginal zone cell lymphoma. A study based on histology, cytology, immunohistochemistry, and cytogenetic analysis.

Only 1 to 2% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) present with an enlarged spleen, most of them "small B-cell lymphomas." Recently, several reports have identified these lymphomas as marginal zone B-cell lymphomas. We reviewed 39 cases of NHL presenting with an enlarged spleen without lymphadenopathy, documented by fixed and frozen material. Two were peripheral T-cell lymphomas, four diffuse large B-cell lymphomas, and 14 hairy cell leukemias. The remaining 19 belonged to the "small B-cell" category and constitute the focus of our study. Subtyping was achieved by combining morphology, immunophenotype, and cytogenetic features according to the proposal of the International Lymphoma Study Group; in addition, analysis of the peripheral blood and bone marrow smears was performed adopting the French-American-British (FAB) criteria. From this study, we can conclude that most "small B-cell" NHL of the spleen were either mantle cell lymphomas or marginal zone cell lymphomas and, by peripheral blood analysis, that the mantle cell lymphomas corresponded to intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma and the marginal zone cell lymphomas to splenic lymphomas with villous lymphocytes. As a result, several diagnostic criteria can be proposed that may be helpful in differentiating mantle cell lymphoma from marginal zone cell lymphoma in the spleen.

Lymph node histology in typical and atypical chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

According to the French-American-British (FAB) proposal on the classification of chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL), the disorder can be subdivided into typical and atypical CLL. We recently demonstrated the prognostic significance of this subgrouping and based on these results we suggested that typical and atypical CLL represent two closely related, but different entities. These results prompted us to investigate 42 patients diagnosed with CLL based on the results of lymph node biopsy in order to identify the histologic counterpart of the CLL variants. A first group of 14 cases showed a monomorphic proliferation of small round lymphocytes associated with the occurrence of small pseudofollicles. All these cases were diagnosed as typical CLL on peripheral blood (13 cases) or bone marrow smear (1 case). The remaining 28 cases showed aberrant histologic features characterized by the presence of large numbers of paraimmunoblasts and prolymphocytes, forming very large pseudofollicles, and/or by nuclear irregularities of the neoplastic cells. Based on peripheral blood smears (22 cases) or bone marrow smears (six cases), two cases showed no peripheral blood involvement, 21 cases were diagnosed as atypical CLL, and five as typical CLL. From these data we can conclude that a histologic counterpart of the CLL variants recognized in the FAB proposal does exist; moreover, our data may explain reports on lymph node involvement by CLL composed of small cleaved cells and clarify the occurrence of pseudofollicles in cases described as mantle cell lymphomas.

Standardisation of multiplex fluorescent short tandem repeat analysis for chimerism testing.

To evaluate the origin of cells after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation we optimised and evaluated two commercially available systems (AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus and GenePrint Powerplex-16) which are based on multiplex fluorescent short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. A standard procedure for interpretation of electropherographs was found essential to obtain reproducible results. On the basis of the relative length of donor and recipient alleles, TYPE-I (no shared alleles are used to calculate chimerism), TYPE-II (one shared and one unshared allele is used to calculate chimerism) or TYPE-III (not informative) allelic distribution types were distinguished. Also, stutter peaks were recognised as an important criterion to exclude a marker for analysis. Intralaboratory and multicentre evaluation of the AmpFlSTR Profiler Plus system showed that mixed blood samples could be determined with an absolute deviation of less than 2%. A sensitivity threshold was set at 5% for TYPE-I and 10% for TYPE-II markers since relative imprecision increases at low chimerism values. No significant difference of calculated chimerism values was observed between STR markers shared between both systems. By monitoring 26 allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplants, the applicability of the proposed method was demonstrated.

Cutaneous mastocytosis after autologous bone marrow transplantation.

A 41-year-old male patient developed cutaneous mastocytosis 3 months after autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). The ABMT was performed as part of consolidation treatment for a high-grade malignant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. There was no evidence for systemic mastocytosis. Recurrence of the lymphoma could not be shown. Mast cell proliferation frequently coexists with dysplastic and neoplastic disorders of myeloid and, more rarely, of lymphoid cells. Mast cells are growth factor responsive and ultimately originate from the pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell. After autologous bone marrow transplantation, hematological reconstitution may in rare cases lead to an abnormal proliferation of mast cells possibly due to unbalanced production of growth factors.

Variant translocation t(15q;17q) accompanying a promyelocytic accelerated phase of Ph-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

One case of Philadelphia-positive chronic myeloid leukemia showed a high promyelocytic component associated with a variant t(15q-,17q+) translocation. A key role for chromosome #17 in the promyelocytic proliferation and/or differentiation is emphasized.

High incidence of chromosome abnormalities in IgG3 myeloma.

Chromosomes were studied in 33 untreated myeloma patients, and results were correlated with the class of Ig secreted by the myeloma cells. A high incidence of clonal karyotypic anomalies seemed to be present in IgG3 myeloma patients, in whom the disease was advanced at diagnosis and rapidly progressing. Among the chromosome anomalies, the t(11;14)(q14;q32) was particularly prominent, and this chromosome anomaly, in analogy with the Ph1 chromosome, may characterize a family of lymphoproliferative disorders.

Genetic abnormalities in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and their clinical and prognostic implications.

Clonal chromosome abnormalities can be detected in approximately 50% of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The most common changes are trisomy 12, followed by structural abnormalities of 13q, 11q, 6q, and 14q. By fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), these aberrations can be demonstrated even in cases with insufficient mitotic yield or a normal karyotype. The biologic consequences of trisomy 12 are unknown, but a gene dosage effect is suspected and studies on partial trisomy 12 indicate that the region 12q13 to 12q22 might be of particular pathogenetic importance. Trisomy 12 is strongly associated with atypical lymphocyte morphology and seems to be a secondary event in leukemogenesis, as shown by combined immunophenotyping and interphase FISH. Structural abnormalities of 13q frequently involve hetero- and homozygous deletions of a region in 13q14, distal to the retinoblastoma gene, which may be the site of a tumor suppressor gene. In contrast to a normal karyotype or structural changes of 13q, complex karyotypic abnormalities, high percentage of abnormal metaphases, trisomy 12 and structural changes involving the P53 tumor suppressor gene on 17p13 are adverse prognostic indicators. Cytogenetic and molecular findings provide important diagnostic, clinical, and prognostic information which can contribute to treatment decisions and follow-up of CLL patients.

Trisomy 6 is the hallmark of a dysplastic clone in bone marrow aplasia.

Clonal hematopoiesis with trisomy 6 as the sole karyotypic change was revealed by cytogenetics in two cases of aplastic anemia. In both patients, dyserythropoiesis was characterized by asynchrony of maturation between nucleus and cytoplasm, binucleated elements, and intercytoplasmic connections. In addition to conventional cytogenetics, the size of the trisomic clone was evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization on fixed cells at diagnosis and in the course of the disease by using an alpha-satellite centromeric probe for chromosome 6. Moreover, in situ hybridization on bone marrow smears showed that dysplastic erythrocytes as well as myeloid cells belonged to the trisomic clone. Trisomy 6 identifies a subgroup of hematologic disorders with bone marrow hypo-aplasia and dyserythropoiesis.

Philadelphia-positive T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A case of typical T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is reported in which, at diagnosis, 100% of bone marrow metaphases showed a Philadelphia (Ph) translocation, t(9;22). These cells completely disappeared following chemotherapy. The significance of the Ph chromosome in T and B leukemic cells is discussed.

del(7q) in chronic B-cell lymphoid malignancies.

Twelve patients with diagnosis of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma/leukemia and del[7q] were studied for their clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular characteristics. Eleven patients were classified as small cell lymphoma whereas one had a diffuse large cell lymphoma. Lymphoplasmacytic features were observed in six out of eleven small cell lymphomas. Morphologically and immunologically these small cell lymphomas could be classified as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (typical or atypical; 4 cases), marginal zone lymphoma (splenic lymphoma with villous lymphocytes; 1 case), mantle cell lymphoma (2 cases), or nonspecified, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (4 cases). Eleven of twelve patients presented with peripheral blood and bone marrow involvement. Two of twelve cases showed del[7q] as the sole anomaly. Two different types of deletions were present: ten cases had del(7)(q21q31) and two cases had del(7)(q31q34). Cases that could be molecularly investigated did not show any involvement of BCL2, BCL3, or BCL6, and only one case had BCL1 rearrangement. The data indicate that del(7q) is associated with a subset of mature small B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders of which some but not all show lymphoplasmatic features.

The concept of typical and atypical chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Subdivision of CLL into typical and atypical subtypes, as proposed by the FAB group in 1989, is not yet widely accepted and its clinical significance is still debated. In recent years, however, a strong correlation was found between atypical morphology trisomy 12 and an aberrant immunophenotype. In the first part of this review we discuss current concepts and generally accepted data on morphology, immunophenotype, genetic abnormalities, clinical features and prognostic factors in CLL. Subsequently, based on our own series and other recently published data, we analyse the validity and clinical impact of classifying CLL into typical and atypical entities and demonstrate that they may represent two closely related but different entities.

Simultaneous occurrence of myelodysplastic syndrome and monoclonal B lymphocytes with a different clonal origin.

Bone marrow and peripheral blood from a myelodysplastic syndrome patient with trisomy 13 and monoclonal B lymphocytes (without evidence of systemic lymphoma) were investigated for clonal lymphoid lineage involvement using interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and X-chromosome inactivation assay (HUMARA) on CD19+ and CD34+ sorted cells. Trisomy 13 was detected in 55% of CD34+ cells and in 5.5% of CD19+ cells, the latter being comparable to the negative control specimen. X-chromosome inactivation showed both CD34+ and CD19+ cells to be monoclonal, though their inactivated X-chromosome was different. The results strongly suggested that both populations of CD34+ and CD19+ cells have originated from a different progenitor stem cell.

Leukaemic intermediate lymphocytic lymphomas: analysis of twelve cases diagnosed by morphology.

Twelve cases of leukaemic intermediate diffuse lymphocytic lymphoma (ILL), diagnosed by morphology, were analysed. The morphology of the ILL cells was so typical that it allowed ready distinction from chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and other related B cell disorders. All cases were of B derivation, had strong mu and chi or lambda immunoglobulin (Ig) staining, were CD5 and FMC7 positive and CD10 negative. Cytogenetic abnormalities were found in 8 patients all having t(11;14)(q13;q32). DNA analysis revealed a relatively high incidence of hypoploidy. At diagnosis all the patients (9 males, 5 females; median age 68) had a low degree of absolute lymphocytosis but the disease was advanced and mostly widespread. The course of the disease appears to be aggressive and incurable with conventional combination chemotherapy.

Prognostic significance of bone marrow trephine and peripheral blood smears in 55 patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Bone marrow trephine and peripheral blood smears taken at diagnosis of 55 cases of well-documented mantle cell lymphomas were reviewed in order to analyse the leukaemic involvement in this non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: its incidence, morphological characteristics and prognostic significance. A median survival of 36 months was found. The median age was 61 and the male to female ratio was 4:1. Morphologically 7 cases presented with a mantle zone pattern, all the others had a diffuse pattern. Involvement of the bone marrow was found in 58% and a trend for prolonged survival in patients with a negative trephine was seen. An absolute lymphocytosis above 10,000 mu l was found at diagnosis in 5 cases (10%) and had a statistically significant impact on survival. An additional 5 cases developed frank leukaemia during the course of the disease and died within 1 to 6 months of this evolution, suggesting that marked lymphocytosis is more a terminal event associated with an extremely poor prognosis than a presenting symptom. Finally we identified an additional parameter with statistically prognostic significance, namely, the presence of atypical cells in the peripheral blood even in the absence of an increased lymphocytosis.