Correlation between C-MYC protein expression and genetic abnormalities in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Abstract

Objective: To study the correlation between expression of oncogene C-MYC protein and gene abnormality in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Methods: The expression of C-MYC protein and gene abnormality were detected by immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), respectively, in 42 cases of paraffin-embedded DLBCL. All cases were collected at Department of Pathology, Weifang People's Hospital during January 2015 to October 2016. Results: The positive rate of C-MYC protein expression was 47.6% (20/42) and the rate of abnormal C-MYC gene by FISH was 26.2%(11/42), including translocation (23.8%, 10/42) and gene amplification (2.4%, 1/42). There was a close relationship between the protein expression and gene translocation (χ(2)=11.813; P=0.001) and gene translocation occurred primarily in GCB (χ(2)=4.029; P=0.045). Conclusion: The high expression (≥40%) of C-MYC protein is associated with its gene translocation, suggesting that C-MYC protein detection can be used as a surrogate marker for C-MYC gene translocation in DLBCL.