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ALK-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with ALK-Clathrin fusion belongs to the spectrum of pediatric lymphomas

Leukemia volume 19, pages 1839–1840 (2005)Cite this article

TO THE EDITOR

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) expressing the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) has just recently been described as a rare subtype of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It is characterized by a lack of expression of the CD30 antigen but positivity for immunoglobulin light chain kappa or lambda, VS38c, CD138, and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). The few cases reported so far showed, with few exceptions, a granular cytoplasmic staining pattern associated with a translocation t(2;17)(p23;q23) fusing ALK to CLTC.1, 2, 3, 4 To our knowledge, only six ALK-positive DLBCLs in children have been reported in the literature to date.5 Here, we add three pediatric ALK-positive DLBCLs from the files of the Institute of Pathology of the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel (Germany) and from the Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (USA). Table 1 summarizes clinical, histological, immunohistochemical, and molecular cytogenetic features.

Table 1 Clinical, histological, immunophenotypic, and molecular cytogenetic features of pediatric ALK-positive DLBCL
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References

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Deutsche Krebshilfe (No.70-3173-Tr3) and ‘Kinderkrebs Initiative Buchholz-Holm-Seppensen’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Germany

    S Gesk, J I Martín-Subero & R Siebert

  2. Department of Pathology, British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada

    R D Gascoyne

  3. Department of Pathology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    B Schnitzer & N Bakshi

  4. Institute of Pathology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel, Germany

    D Janssen, W Klapper & R Parwaresch

Authors
  1. S Gesk
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  2. R D Gascoyne
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  3. B Schnitzer
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  4. N Bakshi
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  5. D Janssen
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  6. W Klapper
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  7. J I Martín-Subero
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  8. R Parwaresch
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  9. R Siebert
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Correspondence to R Siebert.

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Gesk, S., Gascoyne, R., Schnitzer, B. et al. ALK-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with ALK-Clathrin fusion belongs to the spectrum of pediatric lymphomas. Leukemia 19, 1839–1840 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403921

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