Haematologica Reports 2005; 1(issue 5): 1-3 [prev][index][next]

Pathogenetic mechanisms in B-cell lymphomagenesis
Davide Rossi, Daniela Capello, Gianluca Gaidano
Division of Hematology, Department of Medical Sciences & IRCAD and Department of Oncology, Amedeo Avogadro University of Eastern Piedmont, Novara - Italy

The pathogenesis of B-cell non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a highly complex process involving genetic alterations in the tumor clone as well as biologic alterations in the host. Three main mechanisms of lymphomagenesis are recognized: i) accumulation of gene alterations in the tumor genome; ii) infection of the tumor clone by an oncogenic virus; iii) stimulation and selection of tumor cells by an antigen.
As in most human cancers, the genetic lesions involved in B-cell NHL include the activation of proto-oncogenes and the disruption of tumor suppressor genes. In contrast to solid tumors, the pathogenesis of B-cell NHL involves one or few genetic lesions generally represented by chromosomal translocation. [>Read full article in PDF]