Cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders: strategies for molecular biological analysis and their major findings.

This article focuses on the principal molecular biological methods that have been devised to study cutaneous lymphoid infiltrates. These methods involve analysis of antigen receptor gene rearrangements, chromosomal translocations and proviral integration using Southern blot analysis and gene amplification techniques. The major findings are discussed that pertain to early diagnosis, staging, disease monitoring, the development of new immunopathological assays and the detection of tumor-associated retroviruses.