Analysis of MYC, BCL2 and BCL6 rearrangements in oral plasmablastic lymphomas

Plasmablastic lymphoma (PBL) is an aggressive neoplasm in which MYC rearrangements are frequent, whereas concurrent BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements are poorly characterized. We investigated MYC , BCL2 and BCL6 rearrangements in a Brazilian series of oral PBL. Thirty cases were confirmed morphologically and immunophenotypically; 23 were evaluable for fluorescence in situ hybridization. MYC rearrangement was detected in 56.5% of the cases. Three tumors harbored concurrent MYC / BCL2 rearrangements and one harbored MYC / BCL2 / BCL6 rearrangements (17.3%). Targeted review of the available sections from these four cases showed no evidence of residual low-grade B-cell lymphoma, follicular architecture, or morphologically distinct component suggesting transformation. These findings expand the cytogenetic spectrum of oral PBL, highlighting some molecular overlap with other high-grade B-cell lymphomas.