Oncogenes in Hodgkin's disease

The following manuscript reviews data presented at the Cologne meeting relating to oncogene expression in Hodgkin's disease. Presented data ranged from investigations of oncogene expression in cell lines, where transcripts of unique size were identified and lineage related expressions of transcription factors described to detailed cytogenetic investigations of fresh Hodgkin's biopsy tissue. Particular attention was centred on discrepancies in the described expression of t(14; 18) and the molecular demonstration of translocated bcl-2 breakpoints in Hodgkin's disease. A large volume of data was presented relating to the relative expression of bcl-2 breakpoints by either genomic hybridization or hybridization following DNA amplification, the expression of the bcl-2 protein or the defined cytogenetic presence of the translocation. Certain other cytogenetic abnormalities of interest in Hodgkin's disease were discussed.