The clinical significance of Ig heavy chain and TCR gamma gene rearrangement detected in free DNA in plasma in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma / 中华血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical significance of IgH and TCR gamma gene rearrangement in plasma free DNA in patients with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Plasma free DNA in 74 patients with NHL were extracted and identified by Globin gene. IgH (FR3A/VLJH), TCR gamma (TVG/TJX) clonal rearrangements were amplified by PCR and compared with results of mononuclear cell DNA and pathological biopsy sample DNA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Plasma free DNAs were successfully obtained from 58 cases (35 B-NHL and 23 T-NHL) of newly diagnostic, refractory and relapsed NHL out of total 74 patients (78.4%), but not found in the rest 16 patients in remission. Of 35 B-NHL cases, 31 showed IgH rearrangement (88.6%), and none with TCR gamma rearrangement; of 23 T-NHL cases, 8 showed TCR gamma rearrangement (34.8%), and 2 with IgH gene rearrangement synchronously. In comparison with the results of IgH and TCR gamma gene rearrangement in biopsy samples in 30 B-NHL cases, 26 cases in plasma free DNA (86.7%) and 24 in biopsy samples (80%) were positive (P > 0.05). In 20 T-NHL patients, 7 cases in plasma cell-free DNA (35%) and 6 cases in biopsy samples (30%) were positive (P >0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Tumor-derived DNA could be detected in plasma from underlying cancer patients. For NHL patients, detecting IgH and TCR gamma gene rearrangement in plasma free DNA has the same clinical significance as in biopsy samples.</p>