Unusual karyotype aberrations involving 2p12, 3q27, 18q21, 8q24, and 14q32 in a patient with non-Hodgkin lymphoma/acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The t(2;18)(p12;q21), known as a rare variant of the t(14;18)(q32;q21), together with t(3;14)(q27;q32), t(8;15)(q24;q22) and two other unusual translocations involving chromosomes 6, 9, 12, and 13, were demonstrated in the bone marrow cells of a 70-year-old male with suspected non-Hodgkin lymphoma/acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The complex chromosomal aberrations were identified by chromosome banding analysis and by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with whole chromosome painting probes, centromere-specific alpha-satellite probes, and probes specific for genomic sequences of some likely to be involved candidate genes. Several but not all of the chromosomal aberrations could be proved by multicolor FISH. Possible mechanisms leading to this unusual karyotype commonly associated with different histologic lymphoma subtypes and their prognostic implications are discussed.