What can DNA rearrangements tell us about solid hematolymphoid neoplasms?

Studies of DNA rearrangements in antigen receptor genes and at sites of chromosomal translocations are having an increasing impact on the diagnostic evaluation of lymphoid tissue biopsy specimens. Such rearrangements represent clonal molecular markers that can be very easily detected by Southern blot hybridization or polymerase chain reaction amplification. Detection of these markers can be useful in the diagnosis or subclassification of lymphoid neoplasms, particularly when morphologic or immunophenotypic findings alone are ambiguous. At the same time, application of DNA rearrangement to the evaluation of tissue specimens also has certain shortcomings and limitations, some of which may be overcome by current research methods or advances expected in the near future.