RAPID COMMUNICATION Rearrangements of the BCL-6 Gene in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome-Associated Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma: Association With Diffuse Large-Cell Subtype

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (AIDS-NHL), a major source of morbidity and morta l i i among AIDS patients, are derived from B cells and can be classified into two main histologic categories, m a l l noncleaved cell lymphoma (SNCCL) and diffuse large-cell lymphoma (DLCL). DLCL includes two histologic subsets, ie, large noncleaved cell lymphoma (LNCCL) and large cell-immunoblastic plasmacytoid lymphoma (LCIBPL). Several studies have shown that AIDSSNCCL is associated with the clonal accumulation of multiple genetic lesions, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, activation of the c-MYC and M S oncogenes, as well as inactivation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene at variable froquencies. On the contrary, the molecular pathogenesis of AIDS-DLCL is largely obscure, because no genetic lesion other than EBV infection has been specifically identified in this group. In this