Objective: To observe the mutation of 5'noncoding region of bcl-6 gene in diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and its effect on lymphoma pathogenesis.
Methods: 38 DLBCL, 2 reactive hyperplasias, 5 follicular lymphomas and 5 T cell lymphomas were chosen for PCR direct sequence analysis using two sets of primers in 5'noncoding region of the bcl-6 gene.
Results: No mutation was found in the marginal region of reactive hyperplasias, T cell lymphomas, and follicular lymphomas but detected in 1/2 of the follicular center cells, and 7/38 cases of DLBCL. The incidence is less than that seen in other reports. Basepairs substitution and point insertion were the main mutation types.
Conclusions: The positive rate of mutation of 5'noncoding region of bcl-6 gene in DLBCL is 18.7%, less frequent than the published data of DLBCL reported in other countries. It may, in some extent, participate in the pathogenesis and progression of DLBCL.