Cytogenetic and molecular analysis of 12 cases of primary cutaneous marginal zone lymphomas

Primary low-grade B-cell lymphomas of the skin are separated into marginal zone and follicle center lymphomas according to the recent World Health Organization-European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer classification, with distinct histologic and immunohistochemical profiles. Some cases remain difficult to distinguish. The degree of relationship with their extracutaneous counterparts is currently being investigated on clinical, histologic and molecular grounds. Cytogenetic analysis using fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed on 12 frozen samples of infiltrated skin that had been classified as marginal zone lymphoma (MZL). Chromosomal changes known to be recurrently observed in systemic MZL of the mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue type, and in follicular center lymphoma were analyzed. These included trisomy for chromosomes 3, 7, 12, and 18 as well as t(14;18) IGH/BCL2, t(14;18) IGH/MLT1, and t(11;18) API2/MLT1 translocations. Complementary molecular search of IGH/BCL2 rearrangement using a polymerase chain reaction technique and of API2/MLT1 mRNA expression by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction were performed. Two cases showed evidence of trisomy 3 at levels varying from 14% to 20% of the analyzed cells. No other chromosomal abnormalities were found with those techniques in the remaining cases. These results demonstrate that known recurrent chromosomal abnormalities rarely occur in primary cutaneous MZLs and suggest the possibility of a variety of initial oncogenic events leading to a common downstream pathway. These data also underline that fluorescence in situ analysis on routine skin punch biopsies represents a reliable tool for the detection of chromosomal changes, but requires consistent dermal infiltration.