Involvement of the chromosomal translocation t(11;18) in some mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas of the ocular adnexa: evidence from multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and fluorescence in situ hybridization on using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens.

The chromosomal translocation t(11;18) is a unique chromosomal aberration associated with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. API2 and MALT1 genes have been identified around this translocation. We attempted to find chromosomal abnormalities focusing mainly on the t(11;18) translocation in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissues of ocular adnexal lymphoproliferative disorders using multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and/or two-color interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization. By these methods, the t(11;18) translocation was detected in 1 of 8 patients with reactive lymphoid hyperplasia (13%), 3 of 23 with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (13%), and 2 of 14 with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with/without mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma (14%). Moreover, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis to detect any numerical aberration of chromosomes 3, 7, 12, and 18 on some specimens nonselectively. No numerical chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 3 cases of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia, whereas three of four cases of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and all four cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with/without mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma components exhibited one or more abnormalities. These findings indicate a possibility that at least in the ocular adnexa, some diffuse large B-cell lymphomas are derived from mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas.