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Objective:To investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics, gene mutation profile and prognostic influencing factors of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) complicated with follicular lymphoma (FL) (DLBCL/FL).Methods:The clinicopathological data of 50 DLBCL/FL patients admitted to Rui Jin Hospital Affiliated of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from February 2018 to November 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Targeted sequencing was performed to assess the mutation profile of 55 lymphoma-related genes. The clinicopathological characteristics were summarized to evaluate the short-term therapeutic efficacy of all patients. Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients. Cox regression risk models were used to assess the factors affecting the OS and PFS.Results:Among 50 DLBCL/FL patients, 23 cases (46%) were male, 22 cases (44%) had an international prognosis index (IPI) score ≥ 2 points, 16 cases (32%) were double-expression lymphoma (DEL) and 4 cases (8%) were double-hit lymphoma (DHL). The complete response (CR) and overall response rates were 68% (34/50) and 78% (39/50), respectively after the first-line therapy. The median follow-up time was 23.3 months (5.1-50.9 months). The 2-year OS rate was 82.1% and 2-year PFS rate was 67.1%; and the median OS and PFS were not reached. Targeted sequencing results showed that the mutation frequencies of KMT2D, MYD88, TP53, BTG2, DTX1, EZH2, CD70, CREBBP, DUSP2, HIST1H1C, HIST1H1E and PRDM1 genes in this cohort were more than 15%. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that male ( HR = 4.264, 95% CI 1.144-15.896, P = 0.031) and IPI score ≥ 2 points ( HR = 6.800, 95% CI 1.771-37.741, P = 0.007) were independent risk factors of PFS in newly diagnosed DLBCL/FL patients, and TP53 mutation ( HR = 4.992, 95% CI 1.027-24.258, P = 0.046) was an risk influencing factor of OS. Conclusions:The proportion of male and female DLBCL/FL patients is similar, with a small proportion of DHL. Mutations of KMT2D, MYD88 and TP53 genes are commonly found in DLBCL/FL patients. Generally, DLBCL/FL patients can have a high overall response and good prognosis. Male and IPI score ≥ 2 points are the independent risk factors of PFS, and TP53 mutation is an independent risk factor of OS in DLBCL/FL patients.
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Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common indolent B-cell lymphoma. The outcome of relapsed/refractory FL patients after multi-therapy is poor. The 64th American Society of Hematology annual meeting in 2022 announced the latest updates on relapsed/refractory FL, including targeted therapy, bio-specific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell. This review provides an overview of these updates.
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@#Discordant lymphoma (DL) is the coexistence of two or more distinct subtypes in separate anatomic sites. There are limited reports on DL cases especially involving more than two subtypes in more than two sites. We report a 76-year-old man who presented with constitutional symptoms, flank mass and painless lymphadenopathies for six months. Laboratory tests revealed moderate anaemia, markedly elevated serum IgM (13400 mg/dL), IgM Lambda paraproteinemia and Lambda light chain paraproteinuria with unmeasurable serum lactate dehydrogenase due to hyperviscous sample. CT scan showed multiple subcutaneous masses over chest wall and retroperitoneum, with lytic bone lesions, and hepatosplenomegaly. Further biopsy findings with morphological, immunohistochemical and molecular analysis of the tissue sections revealed diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma in the chest wall mass, follicular lymphoma in the inguinal lymph node and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma in the bone marrow. This case highlights the rare DL. The importance of histopathological evaluation of lymphoma despite the availability of PET-CT scans for disease staging is undeniable.
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Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common indolent B-cell lymphoma. Although patients with FL generally have a good prognosis, the treatment of relapsed/refractory FL remains a challenge. The 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting announced the latest updates on relapsed/refractory FL, including the usage of targeted therapy, bio-specific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. This article provides an overview of the updates in combination with the reports presented at the ASH Annual Meeting.
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Follicular lymphoma is the most common indolent lymphoma. At present, it is commonly treated with immunochemotherapy, but the prognosis of patients with progression and relapse is still poor. New targeted drugs include cell surface antibodies, immunomodulators, cell signaling pathway kinase inhibitors, and chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy and dendritic cell vaccines have greatly extended the survival period of these patients and provided more options for clinical treatment.
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RESUMEN Fundamento: el linfoma no Hodgkin folicular ocupa el segundo lugar entre los linfomas no Hodgkin de estirpe B, se caracterizan por un patrón de remisiones y recaídas continuas. La fludarabina constituye una opción de tratamiento del mismo al lograr una rápida remisión, con disminución del porciento de recaída. Objetivo: evaluar la fludarabina como tratamiento de rescate del linfoma no Hodgkin folicular. Métodos: se realizó un estudio observacional analítico de cohortes, longitudinal prospectivo concurrente. El universo de estudio lo conformaron los pacientes que acudieron a la consulta de Hematología con diagnóstico de linfoma no Hodgkin folicular y quedó constituido por 63 pacientes, de los cuales 21 seleccionados mediante muestreo no probabilístico intencionado que recibieron tratamiento con fludarabina, conformaron cohorte de expuestos, que se compararon con 42 pacientes con similares características que recibieron otros esquemas de poliquimioterapia que no incluyó la fludarabina y que constituyó la cohorte de no expuestos. Resultados: fue mayor el número de pacientes con más de 50 años y del sexo masculino, perteneciente al estadio IV de Cotswold y los que tuvieron un riesgo de recaída de bajo - intermedio. El tiempo de sobrevida libre de enfermedad fue mayor en los tratados con fludarabina quienes presentaron menos complicaciones. Conclusiones: en los pacientes tratados con la fludarabina como tratamiento de rescate del linfoma folicular el tiempo de sobrevida libre de la enfermedad fue mayor y se presentaron menos complicaciones, lo que demuestra su utilidad como tratamiento de primeria línea en ausencia del rituximab.
ABSTRACT Background: follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma occupies the second place among non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of line B, they are characterized by a pattern of continuous remissions and relapses. Fludarabine constitutes a treatment option for the same as it achieves a rapid remission, with a decrease in the percentage of relapse. Objective: to evaluate fludarabine as a rescue treatment for follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Methods: a concurrent prospective longitudinal, analytical, observational cohort study was conducted. The study universe was made up of patients who attended the Hematology consultation with a diagnosis of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and consisted of 63 patients, of which 21 were selected by intentional non-probabilistic sampling who received treatment with fludarabine, made up a cohort of exposed, these were compared with 42 patients with similar characteristics who received other poly-chemotherapy regimens that did not include fludarabine and they constituted the unexposed cohort. Results: the number of male patients over 50 years of age, belonging to Cotswold stage IV, and those with a low-intermediate risk of relapse was greater. The disease-free survival time was longer in those treated with fludarabine, who had fewer complications. Conclusions: in patients treated with fludarabine as rescue treatment for follicular lymphoma, the disease-free survival time was longer and there were fewer complications, which show its usefulness as a first-line treatment in the absence of rituximab.
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RESUMEN Fundamento: las hemopatías malignas día a día aumentan su incidencia y proliferación dentro de la población, entre ellas el síndrome linfoproliferativo ocupa un lugar importante, es un grupo de trastornos de origen clonal, que afecta a las células linfoides, con características heterogéneas desde el punto de vista clínico, histológico y molecular. Objetivo: agrupar diferentes criterios diagnósticos y divulgar nuevas opciones terapéuticas para los pacientes con diagnóstico de linfoma no Hodgkin. Métodos: se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica en las plataformas de acceso a bases de datos de la red de información de salud cubana Infomed, dentro de ellas en EBSCOhost, PubMed/Medline y SciELO. Se utilizaron los siguientes descriptores: síndromes linfoproliferativos, linfomas, linfoma no Hodgkin. Resultados: se aborda la evolución histórica de los síndromes linfoproliferativos desde su descripción inicial hasta el momento actual, así como las diferentes clasificaciones, los tratamientos convencionales utilizados y una panorámica de las investigaciones que se realizan en busca de nuevos tratamientos. Conclusiones: la clasificación de los linfomas no Hodgkin ha cambiado a lo largo del tiempo, la extensión de la enfermedad tiene un papel fundamental en la selección del tratamiento y posible sobrevida del paciente. Existe una amplia variedad de prometedores agentes en desarrollo disponibles para el tratamiento del linfoma folicular.
ABSTRACT Background: malignant haemopathies increase their incidence and proliferation within the population, among them the lymphoproliferative syndrome occupies an important place, it is a group of disorders of clonal origin, which affects the lymphoid cells, with heterogeneous characteristics from the point of clinical, histological and molecular view. Objective: to group different diagnostic criteria and to disclose new therapeutic options for patients diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Methods: a bibliographic search was carried out in the access platforms to databases of the Infomed Cuban health information network, within them in EBSCOhost, PubMed / Medline and SciELO. The following descriptors were used: lymphoproliferative syndromes, lymphomas, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Results: the historical evolution of the lymphoproliferative syndromes is addressed from its initial description to the present time, as well as the different classifications, the conventional treatments used and an overview of the research carried out in search of new treatments. Conclusions: the classification of non-Hodgkin lymphomas has changed over time; the extent of the disease has a fundamental role in the selection of treatment and possible survival of the patient. There is a wide variety of promising developing agents available for the treatment of follicular lymphoma.
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Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common indolent lymphoma. With the improvement of disease awareness and the introduction of various novel drugs, the 5-year overall survival rate has been more than 90% for the majority of FL patients. However, certain subgroups of FL patients, especially patients who progressed within 24 months after starting front-line therapy, still have worse outcome. This article reviews the progress in genetics, prognostic factors and treatment options of FL that reported at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting 2019.
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Follicular lymphoma (FL) is usually occult, with a wide range of disease manifestations and prognosis. In recent years, with the combination of anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody and standard chemotherapy methods, as well as the use of immunomodulators and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the survival rate of FL patients has been greatly improved, but it is still considered to be an incurable disease. Recent studies have shown that the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy can improve the survival rate and the prognosis of FL patients. The article will elaborate on the mechanism, clinical research progress, adverse reactions and limitations of CAR-T in the treatment of FL.
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Objective@#To investigate the clinical presentation pathological diagnostic features and molecular genetics of paediatric-type follicular lymphoma (PTFL).@*Methods@#Eight cases of PTFL at Fujian Cancer Hospital between January 2003 and May 2018 were analyzed by hematoxylin-eosin stain, immunohistochemistry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The relevant literature review was performed.@*Results@#All patients were male with age ranging from 12 to 27 years (median age of 18 years and average age of 19 years). Clinical manifestations included painless lymph adenopathy, primarily involving head and neck lymph nodes (6/8). According to Ann Arbor stage, there were 7 patients at stage Ⅰ A and 1 patient at stage Ⅱ A. Histologically, the structure of the lymph nodes was effaced with pushing borders visible at the tumor periphery. The lesions consisted of expanding, irregular follicles that were arranged in back to back fashion along with thinning or disappearing sleeves. The starry sky phenomenon in the follicle was prominent with loss of polarity. Under high power magnification, the follicles were composed of uniform, medium-sized blastic cells in 5 cases or centroblast in 3 cases. The neoplastic cells were positive for B cell markers and germinal center markers primarily confined to the germinal center. Bcl-2 was negative in 7 cases and 1 case showed weak bcl-2 staining. MUM1 was negative in all cases. Ki-67 demonstrated a high proliferation index of great than 70% in 7 of 8 cases. Eight cases showed Ig clonal rearrangement. No bcl-2, bcl-6, and IRF4/MUM1 gene rearrangements by FISH were detected in all cases. One patient was treated with 6 cycles of CHOP after surgical resection. Other patients underwent only simple surgical resection. All patients were alive upon clinical follow-up.@*Conclusion@#PTFL is a rare subtype of B cell lymphoma with unique clinical and pathological features. It should be distinguished from reactive follicular hyperplasia, nodal marginal lymphoma in children, large B-cell lymphoma with IRF4 rearrangement and usual follicular lymphoma.
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Objective@#To investigate the clinicopathologic features of follicular lymphoma (FL) in children.@*Methods@#One female and one male patients with FL diagnosed in the First College of Clinical Medical Science, China Three Gorges University and Beijing Friendship Hospital of the Capital University of Medical Science in February 2016 and June 2015 were studied by HE immunohistochemistry, EBER in situ hybridization, IgH and IgK gene rearrangement analysis and IRF4 fusion gene detection.@*Results@#The two patients′ age were 6.3 and 12 years, respectively. The lesions involved head and neck lymph nodes with duration of more than 2 months. Histopathologically, the lesions consisted of nodular proliferation of lymphoid follicles with diffuse distribution of large cells. Starry sky phenomenon was seen in one of the two cases. Immunohistochemistry showed that one case was positive for bcl-2 and MUM1, but negative for bcl-6 and CD10. Ki-67 index was>50% and oligoclonal IgK rearrangement was observed. The second case showed positivity for bcl-6, and CD10 but negative for bcl-2. Ki-67 index was>50% and clonal IgH FR1-JH and IgH FR2-JH rearrangements were detected. Both cases showed no evidence of IRF4 gene fusion.@*Conclusions@#Childhood FL is a rare B-cell lymphoma with characteristic features and high-grade histomorphology. However, its immunophenotype and molecular genetic characteristics are divergent.
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Objective@#To explore the clinical characteristics of follicular lymphoma (FL) in the era of rituximab combined with chemotherapy and the prognostic significance of the follicular lymphoma international prognostic index (FLIPI), follicular lymphoma international prognostic index 2 (FLIPI2), international prognostic index (IPI), revised international prognostic index (R-IPI), National Comprehensive Cancer Network international prognostic index (NCCN-IPI) among Chinese patients.@*Methods@#229 FL patients who were treated initially with rituximab combined with CHOP-like (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone) chemotherapy from November 2008 to April 2018 were analyzed retrospectively and all were scored by the above clinical index. Univariate and multivariate survival analysis were performed on 201 patients who completed the treatment and were followed regularly.@*Results@#In the univariate survival analysis, age>60 years, hemoglobin<120 g/L, elevated serumβ2- macroglobulin, involvement of bone marrow and elevated CRP were the risk prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS). Moreover, the analysis of the OS and PFS between rituximab (R) maintenance (RM) group and non-maintenance (non-RM) group showed that the OS and PFS of RM group were better than those of non-RM. In the multivariate analysis of OS, hemoglobin<120 g/L, involvement of bone marrow, elevated CRP and non-RM were independent prognostic factors. In the multivariate analysis of PFS, hemoglobin<120 g/L, CRP and non-RM were independent prognostic factors. When FLIPI2 was included in the multivariate analysis, CRP and FLIPI2 were independent prognostic factors in both OS and PFS, and non-RM was independent prognostic factors in PFS.@*Conclusion@#FLIPI2 is the better risk stratification in FL patients in the era of rituximab.
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Objective@#To investigate the clinicopathological features, treatment and prognosis of duodenal-type follicular lymphoma.@*Methods@#Four cases of duodenal-type follicular lymphoma diagnosed at Guangdong General Hospital from 2014 to 2015 with detailed clinical data were included. The histomorphology, immunophenotype, treatment and prognoses were analyzed.@*Results@#The patients′ age ranged from 51 to 57 years (mean 54 years), and there were 2 males and 2 females. The involved sites were gastric fundus in one case, second portion of the duodenum in two cases and terminal ileum in one case. All patients presented with multiple mucosal granules or nodules at endoscopy. Microscopically, there were multiple mucosal neoplastic follicles, constituting grade 1-2 disease based on nodal follicular lymphoma grading system. The tumor cells were positive for CD20, CD10, bcl-6 and bcl-2. CD21 highlighted the follicular dendritic meshwork mainly at the periphery of the follicles. Proliferation index was low. Three patients received rituximab monotherapy for 4 cycles, leading to complete remission. One patient refused therapy and the disease progressed to systemic lymphoma 15 months after the initial diagnosis.@*Conclusions@#Duodenal-type follicular lymphoma is a special variant of follicular lymphoma with indolent clinical course. The tumor exhibits morphology of low grade follicular lymphoma with characteristic dendritic meshwork at the periphery of the follicles and a low proliferation index. Prognosis is excellent. Rituximab monotherapy is treatment of choice, but a small minority of patients may progress to systemic disease.
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Objective To analyze the cases that are easily misdiagnosed as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL),and to explore the diagnosis,differential diagnosis and clinicopathological features of DLBCL.Methods The clinicopathological data of 431 cases preliminarily diagnosed as DLBCL in the Department of Pathology,School of Basic Medical Science,Peking University from October 2016 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.Further immunohistochemical staining and molecular biological tests were performed if necessary.Results The diagnostic accuracy rate of DLBCL was 88.86％ (383/431).Misdiagnosis mainly occurred in follicular lymphoma (36 cases,8.35％),high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL) with gene rearrangement of c-myc and bcl-2 or bcl-6 (4 cases,0.93％),atypical lymphoid tissue hyperplasia (3 cases,0.70％),mantle cell lymphoma (3 cases,0.70％),classic Hodgkin lymphoma (CHL) (1 case,0.23％) and composite lymphoma (DLBCL and CHL) (1 case,0.23％).Except the poor quality of sections,the lack of immunohistochemical markers,the poor knowledge of the diagnosis of DLBCL and high-grade FL as well as HGBL were the main reasons of misdiagnosis.Conclusions The diagnosis and differential diagnosis of DLBCL is based on morphology,and it needs to combine with the corresponding immunohistological markers and molecular biological detection when necessary.The recognition of clinical and pathological features of various types of misdiagnosed lymphomas should be strengthened.
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Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the most common indolent B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The overall survival of FL is near 15 years. However, the survival would be significantly shortened in refractory, early-relapsed or transformed setting. The 60th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting reported several latest and optimal approaches to relapsed/refractory FL, with a focus on immune-based therapies and target agents for FL. This paper reviews and makes comments about these clinical trials.
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Follicular lymphomas, which typically arise in the lymph nodes with spleen, liver, and bone marrow involvement, have generally low occurrence rates in Asian countries as compared with Western countries. Follicular lymphomas of the gastrointestinal tract are rare, and primary colonic follicular lymphomas are particularly rare compared with others found in the small intestine and duodenum. Colonoscopic imaging of colonic lymphomas, including follicular lymphoma, may reveal mucosal ulcerations, erosions, indurations, polypoid mass-like lesions, and diffuse mucosal nodularity. Herein, we report a unique case of a follicular lymphoma of the transverse colon characterized by four sessile diminutive polyps located intermittently with multiple lymph node involvement in a 62-year-old man.
Subject(s)
Humans , Middle Aged , Asian People , Bone Marrow , Colon , Colon, Transverse , Colonoscopy , Duodenum , Gastrointestinal Tract , Intestine, Small , Liver , Lymph Nodes , Lymphoma , Lymphoma, Follicular , Polyps , Spleen , UlcerABSTRACT
Objective@#To determine the cut-off values of Ki-67 labeling index (LI) in the histological grading of follicular lymphoma (FL).@*Methods@#Clinicopathological data of 350 FL patients diagnosed at Beijing Friendship Hospital from June 2014 to January 2016 were analyzed retrospectively by quantitative evaluation and statistical analysis of Ki-67 LI.@*Results@#Of the 350 patients with FL, the male and female ratio was 1.1 and the average age was (50.2±14.0) years with a median age of 51 years (range 4 to 82 years). The tumors were graded as grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ in 215 cases (61.4%), grade Ⅲ A in 105 cases (30.0%), and grade Ⅲ B in 30 cases (8.6%). The average Ki-67 values were (22.8%±8.3%) for the FL low (grade Ⅰ-Ⅱ) and (50.4%±10.7%) for high grade (Ⅲ A and Ⅲ B) and were statistically significant by Mann Whitney U test (P<0.01). Receiver operated characteristic curve analysis showed that the best diagnostic cut-off value of low grade FL was 35% (sensitivity of 96.3% and specificity of 93.3%) with the largest area under curve (AUC=0.990, P<0.01, 95%CI for 0.982-0.998). According to the analysis of four lattice diagnostic tests, Ki-67 LI >40% was an important factor (χ2=230.733, P<0.01) in predicting high grade FL. When the cut-off value of Ki-67 LI was set at 40%, high grade LF could be diagnosed with the greatest sensitivity (98.1%) and specificity (87.7%). Moreover, a significant correlation between the Ki-67 LI and the pathological grade of FL (r=0.836, P<0.01) was observed.@*Conclusions@#Ki-67 LI of below a cut-off value of 35% is a reliable indicator of low grade FL.Ki-67 over 40% is consistent with high grade FL. These Ki-67 cut-off values may serveas an important auxiliary indicator in the grading of FL.
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Follicular lymphoma (FL) is a kind of indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma deriving from follicle germinal center. Relapsed and refractory FL usually requires multiline treatments. With the great advance of novel drugs and a large number of clinical trials, the treatment model of FL has been changing continually. High dose therapy combined with hematopoietic stem cell transplant could provide preferable remissions for FL patients. Meanwhile, as more and more clinical trials have made great progress, novel drugs including inhibitors of PI3K, programmed death-1 (PD-1) or lenalidomide and antibody radionuclide conjugate have brought an increasing options for FL treatment.
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Objective@#To evaluate the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes of patients with de novo grade 3 or transformed follicular lymphoma (FL).@*Methods@#Fifty-two patients treated at Peking University Cancer Hospital between January 2009 and September 2017 were assessed, including 28 patients with FL 3A grade, 13 patients with FL 3B grade, 11 patients with transformed FL. Baseline characteristics, survival and prognostic factors were analyzed.@*Results@#① Twenty-six male and 26 female patients were enrolled, including 28 patients with FL 3A grade, 13 patients with FL 3B grade, 11 patients with transformed FL. ②The 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for the entire cohort were 56.0% and 80.6%, respectively. Patients with international prognostic index (IPI) score 0-1 demonstrated significantly better 3-year PFS (80.3% vs 20.1%; t=18.902, P<0.001) and OS (95.7% vs 57.0%; t=10.406, P<0.001) than patients with IPI score 2-3. Three-year PFS (94.1% vs 37.2% vs 25.2%; P=0.002) and OS (100.0% vs 76.0% vs 59.8%; P=0.020) were also significantly different among patients with FLIPI 1 score 0-1, 2, ≥3. FLIPI 2 score was also identified as a prognostic factor for 3-year PFS (68.4%, 0, 0; P=0.001) and OS(87.5%, 76.2%, 0; P=0.003). ③Multivariate analysis indicated a significant association of PFS (HR=3.536, P=0.015) and OS (HR=15.713, P=0.015) with IPI. FLIPI 2 was associated with OS (score 0-1, HR=0.078, P=0.007; score 2, HR=0.080, P=0.022).@*Conclusion@#De novo grade 3 or transformed FL might be a group of curable disease with current treatment strategies. IPI is still a prognostic tool in this scenario.
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Objective@#To evaluate the application of FISH testing of bcl-2/IgH gene translocation and IgH/L gene rearrangement in different stages of follicular lymphoma.@*Methods@#In 32 follicular lymphoma cases, which were collected at Guangdong General Hospital from September 2014 to December 2016, the bcl-2/IgH gene ectopic state was detected by FISH while the IgH/L gene rearrangement was tested using PCR-GeneScan to analyze the relationship between bcl-2/IgH gene translocation, different stages of follicular lymphoma and clonal immunoglobulin (IgH/L) gene rearrangements.@*Results@#From the paraffin sections of all 32 follicular lymphomas, 17 cases showed bcl-2/IgH gene translocation, and the percentages of FL1, FL2 and FL3 translocation were 12/13, 3/5 and 2/14, respectively. Among the 24 cases of IgH/L gene arrangements identified from the total sample, the occurrence rates of FL1, FL2 and FL3 gene arrangement were 7/13, 4/5 and 13/14, respectively. Spearman′s rank correlation analysis and χ2 analysis showed that bcl-2/IgH gene translocation was negatively correlated with follicular lymphoma stage and the association was statistically significant. In more advanced stages of follicular lymphoma, the occurrence of bcl-2/IgH gene translocation tended to decrease with distinct FL1, FL2 and Fl3 gene expression (P<0.05). As IgH/L gene rearrangement in FL3 was higher than that in FL1 and FL2, its detection may be complimentary to FISH test for bcl-2/IgH gene translocation in diagnosing follicular lymphoma.@*Conclusions@#The combined use of FISH and PCR-GeneScan increases the positive rate of follicular lymphoma diagnosis, and this combination is more sensitive than FISH or clonal analysis only to detect the chromosomal abnormality or the gene rearrangement.