Molecular markers of B-cell lymphoma

Molecular mapping of the cell surface has probably proceeded further with the human lymphocyte than with any other mammalian cell, and the B lymphocyte yields a wide range of subtly varying neoplasms. These two bodies of knowledge are now readily correlated, given the widespread adoption of a modern lineage-based classification of lymphoma (Revised European-American). Studies of the markers of B-cell lymphoma have immediate practical importance in diagnosis, defining clonality, and detecting minimal residual disease. They also help to keep us abreast of lymphocyte physiology, and present new opportunities for treating these neoplasms.