Cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma and peripheral T-cell lymphoma NOS show distinct chromosomal alterations and differential expression of chemokine receptors and apoptosis regulators.

Primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (C-ALCL) has an indolent clinical course and favorable prognosis. On the contrary, primary cutaneous peripheral T-cell lymphoma not otherwise specified (PTL-NOS) shows aggressive clinical behavior. To identify genomic events relevant in the pathogenesis of these cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs), we carried out array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) analysis. Simultaneously, gene expression profiling was conducted to gain insight into gene expression programs associated with the different clinical behavior of these CTCLs. C-ALCL was characterized by gains on chromosome 7q and 17q and losses on 6q and 13q. PTL-NOS similarly showed gains on 7q and 17q, but was distinguished by gains on chromosome 8 and loss of a focal overlapping region on 9p21. We identified minimal common regions harboring candidate oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes in C-ALCL and PTL-NOS. Genes with a role in lymphocyte chemotaxis, apoptosis, and proliferation were overrepresented among genes differentially expressed between these lymphomas. C-ALCL showed higher expression of the skin-homing chemokine receptor genes CCR10 and CCR8, which may explain the lower tendency to disseminate to extracutaneous sites. Furthermore, C-ALCL and PTL-NOS showed aberrant expression of distinct genes implicated in apoptosis and proliferation, such as IRF4/MUM1 and PRKCQ, which may account for differences in clinical aggressiveness.