Guidance for
testing utilization
Expert interpretation of chromosome abnormalities
Lymphomas are among the most complex diseases to recognize and diagnose because they are pathologically complex, with features that overlap with reactive/inflammatory conditions and other nonhematologic malignancies.
By the numbers
30
There are currently over 30 identified subtypes of T-cell neoplasms, which can make diagnosis difficult.
12%
T-cell malignancies account for approximately 12% of all non-Hodgkin's lymphomas.
7th
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is the seventh most common type of cancer in the U.S.
Clinical expertise in lymphomas
To assist clinicians with lymphoma diagnosis, Mayo Clinic has a highly experienced, nine-member hematopathology section focusing on lymphoma diagnosis, which diagnoses more than 3,000 lymphoma cases per year.
Paul Kurtin, M.D., consultant in Hematopathology, provides an overview of the lymphoma consultation services available through Mayo Clinic Laboratories.
IGHV and TP53
sequencing: Clinical utility in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
Our goals today are, first of all, to understand the use of prognostic markers in CLL patients; second, to highlight the importance of molecular analyses for IGHV and TP53 sequencing in CLL patients; third, to understand how IGHV mutation analysis provides prognostic information in CLL and can help inform clinicians about possible treatment decisions; and, finally, recognizing that TP53 mutations identified by sequencing studies are associated with poor outcomes, since those patients are more likely to be resistant to standard therapeutic regimens.
Additional resources
In this month's "Hot Topic," Jess Peterson, M.D., discusses changes to Mayo Clinic Laboratories’ hematology FISH menu to increase awareness, provide reasoning, and highlight some of the great things that are coming.
Andrew Feldman, M.D., discusses the different tools and techniques Mayo Clinic Laboratories uses to accurately diagnose and classify T-cell lymphomas to help provide clinicians with the diagnostic answers they need to treat their patients.
For patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) — the most common leukemia in adults — advanced testing can not only provide valuable information about their disease state, but peace of mind in the face of a progressive, incurable illness. Oftentimes, however, complex molecular and genetic tests to identify biomarker cues about disease trajectory and treatment intolerance are not performed, putting patients at risk for unmet expectations and unsatisfactory outcomes.
Horatiu Olteanu, M.D., Ph.D., gives an overview of the new T-cell receptor (TCR) β-chain constant region (TRBC1) flow cytometry marker, which is now included in Mayo Clinic Laboratories' routine diagnostic T-cell flow cytometry panel. He discusses when this testing should be ordered, how the addition of TCRBC1 compares to previous testing approaches, and how this marker can assist ordering physicians.
In this month’s “Hot Topic,” Curtis Hanson, M.D., will discuss the use of laboratory-based prognostic markers in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). He will also highlight the importance of molecular analyses for IGHV and TP53 sequencing in these patients.