Translocation (14;19)(q32;q13) detected by spectral karyotyping and lack of BCL3 rearrangement in CD5-positive B-cell lymphoma associated with hemophagocytic syndrome

It has been shown that some cases of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma associated with a hemophagocytic syndrome (B-LAHS) have chromosomal abnormalities at 14q32 or 19q13. We report here a 64-year-old woman with B-LAHS and a complex karyotype including add(14)(q32). We applied spectral karyotyping and revealed that the add(14)(q32) was derived from a der(14)t(14;19)(q32;q13). However, rearrangement of the BCL3 gene at 19q13 could not be detected by Southern blot analysis. Our results indicate that the translocation involving 19q13 may be one of the recurrent aberrations in B-LAHS and that the molecular mechanism of t(14;19)(q32;q13) in B-LAHS appear to be different from that observed in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.