OBJECTIVETo establish a sensitive and effective method for detection of immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor (Ig/TCR) gene rearrangement,and to explore its role in diagnosis and differential diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders.

METHODSFifty-eight lymphoid tissue samples from 54 patients with lymphoproliferations were evaluated by the novel BIOMED-2 multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for antigen receptor genes rearrangement.

RESULTSMultiplex PCR demonstrated monoclonal Ig/TCR gene rearrangements in 22 of 25 (88.0%) B-cell malignancies and 8 of 15 (53.3%) T-cell malignancies. Among 17 benign lymphoproliferations confirmed histopathologically, polyclonal rearrangements were detected in 14 cases (82.4%). In total, the clonality analysis and the final clinico-histopathological diagnosis were concordant in 77.2%. Combination detection of Iglambda and TCR delta gene rearrangements did not increase the detection rate of monoclonal rearrangement of Ig/TCR, but might help to the detection of Iglambda+ or TCR delta+ lymphomas.

CONCLUSIONThe novel BIOMED-2 multiplex PCR strategy is a rapid, reliable and sensitive approach to detecting clonality in suspected lymphoproliferations, especially in atypical cases.