Molecular classification of T-cell lymphomas

T-cell neoplasms encompass a heterogeneous group of relatively rare disease entities. This review, focused on lymphoblastic tumors (T-ALL/LBL) and nodal-based peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL), summarizes recent advances in the molecular characterization of these diseases. In T-ALL/LBL, molecular subgroups delineated by gene expression profiling correlate with leukemic arrest at specific stages of normal thymocyte development and different oncogenic pathways, and seem to be of interest for prognosis prediction. Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL), one of the most common PTCL entities, comprises neoplastic cells with a molecular signature similar to normal follicular helper T cells, and this cellular derivation might account for several of the peculiar aspects of this disease. Except in ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma, defined by ALK gene fusions, chromosomal translocations are otherwise rare in PTCLs, but some recurrent rearrangements might be associated with distinct lymphoma subtypes. In PTCL, not otherwise specified (PTCL, NOS), novel molecular biomarkers of potential therapeutic interest have been recently identified.