Translocation (3;14)(q27;q11): a new variant translocation in a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of B-cell type with BCL6 rearrangement.

We report a 65-year-old woman with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) carrying a t(3;14)(q27;q11) and BCL6 rearrangement in the affected cells. She had generalized lymphadenopathy and the bone marrow was infiltrated by lymphoma cells at presentation. Histological diagnosis was "malignant lymphoma, diffuse, large cell" type according to an International Working Formulation. Chromosome analysis revealed a t(3;14)(q27;q11), which is a new variant translocation of t(3;14) (q27;q32). Southern blot analysis showed rearrangement of BCL6, JH, and TCR beta but not of TCR delta. Cosmid probe of BCL6 hybridized to 14q11 and 3q27 by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Although the band 14q11 is a locus of T-cell receptor alpha- and delta-chains (TCR alpha/delta), lymphoma cells expressed B-cell, IgGk phenotype. The findings suggest that a novel proto-oncogene in the vicinity of TCR alpha/delta is involved in this translocation.