Gene rearrangements in T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma

This study presents an examination of the Ig heavy chain (IgH) and T-cell receptor gamma (TCRγ) genes in a series of 39 CD3-positive T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) cases with and without co-expression of CD79a; 30/39 cases had a rearrangement of the TCRγ genes and two of these 30 cases also demonstrated an IgH rearrangement. No cases had solely an IgH rearrangement. The conclusion of the study is that lymphoblastic lymphoma cases that are positive for CD3 are of T-cell lineage, regardless of CD79a expression. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.