Immunoglobulin and T‐Cell Receptor Gene Rearrangement Analysis for Diagnosis of Hematologic Malignancies

A New and Simple TRG Multiplex PCR Assay for Assessment of T‐cell Clonality: A Comparative Study from the EuroClonality Consortium

“…As, in most instances, tumor cells are the progeny of a single transformed malignant cell, analysis of antigen receptor gene rearrangements by PCR and capillary electrophoresis (GeneScan) sizing provides a method for clonality assessment of lymphoid proliferations. [3][4][5][6] Analysis of T-cell lineage clonality is particularly prone to interpretation issues as clonal rearrangements can be detected in non-malignant conditions including those associated with perturbed and restricted immune repertoires, such as chronic infection, 7,8 auto-immune disease, [9][10][11] bone marrow transplantation 12 as well as in elderly individuals. 13,14 Finally, amplification of IG/TR gene rearrangements from rare B or T-cells in a sample containing few lymphocytes can generate a seemingly clonal profile, termed pseudoclonality.…”