Ocular Adnexal Lymphoid Neoplasms: Clinical and Biologic Implications

We investigated the organization of the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) and the T cell receptor beta chain (T$) gene loci in 20 ocular adnexal and four extraocular lymphoid neoplasms obtained from 1 8 patients presenting with an ocular adnexal lymphoid neoplasm. Fifteen ocular adnexal and four extraocular lymphoid neoplasms occurring in 1 3 patients were classified by morphological examination and immunophenotypic analysis as monoclonal B cell lymphomas. Each one of these 1 9 lymphoid neoplasms exhibited clonal IgH gene rearrangements upon hybridization of EcoRlor Hindlll-digested DNA to a heavy-chain joining region (JH)-specific DNA probe. The bilateral ocular adnexal monoclonal B cell neoplasms occurring simultaneously in two individuals exhibited identical clonal IgH gene rearrangements. which indicated their derivation from an identical B cell clone. The ocular adnexal and the extraocular monoclonal B cell neoplasms occurring in two of three patients also exhibited identical clonal IgH gene