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Article
March 1988

T-Cell Receptor Gene Rearrangements: Progress and Promise

Author Affiliations

Department of Dermatology Harvard Medical School Boston, MA 02115; Division of Hematology and Oncology Department of Medicine Beth Israel Hospital Boston, MA 02115

Arch Dermatol. 1988;124(3):359-363. doi:10.1001/archderm.1988.01670030025016
Abstract

T-cell has been applied clinically as a technique to demonstrate clonality of T lymphocytes.1-3 Although often difficult to demonstrate, clonality is considered to be a sine qua non of malignancy. The occurrence of a unique chromosomal translocation (eg, the translocation of the long arm of chromosome 22, the Philadelphia1 chromosome) in chronic myelogenous leukemia is strong evidence for the clonal derivation of this malignancy. It is understood that the malignant transformation of the leukemic cells must occur at the time of, or after, the Philadelphia1 translocation so that each malignant cell contains the translocated chromosome. The immunohistochemical demonstration that almost every cell in a proliferation of B lymphocytes expresses one immunoglobulin light chain (either κ or X) is evidence that the cells are likely to all be members of a single clone that may be malignant. Again, the malignant transformation of the B lymphocyte must occur at

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