DNA microarrays in lymphoid malignancies

Gene expression profiling using cDNA microarrays has the potential to improve current lymphoma classification schemes by establishing a molecular diagnosis of these malignancies. The use of this technology led to the discovery of biologically and clinically distinct subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Gene expression data can also be used to formulate powerful mathematical algorithms that predict the clinical outcome in patients with DLBCL and mantle cell lymphoma. In B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia, gene expression profiling identified ZAP70, an important prognostic marker whose expression correlates with the mutational status of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene and, therefore, with survival in these patients. These examples illustrate that gene expression profiling may pave the way for detailed molecular characterization of lymphoid malignancies that will ultimately lead to tailored, disease-specific therapies.