A 1-kb Bcl-2-PCR fragment detection in a patient with follicular lymphoma and development of a new diagnostic PCR method

The t(14;18) translocation is a useful marker to characterize follicular lymphoma and to monitor residual disease. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a powerful technique to detect this translocation. Located on chromosome Is, within the Bcl-2 gene, breakpoints occur mainly in the 3' untranslated region, in the third exon of Bcl-2 (MBR region). In this study, the authors amplified MBR breakpoints by PCR and found an unexpectedly large fragment of I Kb that corresponds to a recently described new breakpoint in the Bcl-2 gene. With a new primer set, a further previously considered t(14;18)-unrelated tumor was in fact positive for this new breakpoint.