MYD88 L265P somatic mutation: its usefulness in the differential diagnosis of bone marrow involvement by B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the usefulness of the MYD88 L265P somatic mutation in identifying cases of lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma (LPL) from other lymphoplasmacytic neoplasms in bone marrow biopsy specimens.

METHODS

We studied 64 bone marrow biopsy specimens with involvement by various small B-cell lymphomas or plasma cell myeloma.

RESULTS

The MYD88 L265P somatic mutation was present in 13/13 cases of LPL, 1/13 cases of hairy cell leukemia, and absent in the other mature B-cell neoplasms tested. A test set of diagnostically challenging bone marrow cases with lymphoplasmacytoid morphology (B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified) was selected for additional review and reclassified, without knowledge of the MYD88 L265P status. Of those 16 cases, 7 were positive for MYD88, including 4/4 cases that were reclassified as LPL during the review.

CONCLUSIONS

Although not entirely specific, MYD88 L265P is a useful adjunct for bone marrow diagnosis in separating LPL from other small B-cell lymphomas and plasma cell myeloma.