t(11;14) (q13;q32) in B-cell lymphomas (intermediately differentiated lymphocytic and follicular). A report of four cases

The association of recurrent chromosomal abnormalities with certain types of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHLs) provides important clues to their classification and pathogenesis. The t(11;14), an uncommon abnormality, has been reported in a variety of B-cell lymphomas, including the intermediately differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma (IDLL). The authors report here the histologic, immunophenotypic, and cytogenetic findings in four additional patients with such translocation. They represent 8% of 51 patients with NHL studied by cytogenetics in a provincial hospital of Western mainland Japan. Three of the patients had IDLL and one a follicular lymphoma of large cell type. These findings strengthen the association between t(11;14) and IDLL. Furthermore, the occurrence of t(11;14) in a follicular lymphoma, as the sole abnormality, along with histogenetic considerations, suggests the possible existence of a rarer subset of follicular lymphoma, not associated with the t(14;18) and histogenetically related to IDLL.