Chromosomal rearrangements involving the BCL3 locus are recurrent in classical Hodgkin and peripheral T-cell lymphoma

In a recent issue of Blood, Mathas et al suggested elevated BCL3 expression to be functionally important in classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). The authors reported strong BCL3 protein expression in the vast majority of cHLs and a subset of PTCLs.1 These results corroborated similar immunohistochemical findings by Canoz et al.
Mathas et al reported chromosomal gains of the BCL3 locus in chromosome band 19q13 as a potential cause of BCL3 upregulation in 3 of 6 cHL cell lines and 8 of 37 PTCLs. Here, we provide evidence that not only chromosomal gains but also translocations affecting the BCL3 locus are recurrent in cHL and PTCL. [beginning of text]