To this end, we investigated the levels of p16/INK4A protein using immunohistochemical techniques in 153 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, using as reference the levels found in reactive lymphoid tissue.
Codeletion of CDKN2 and MTAP genes in a subset of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma may be associated with histologic transformation from low-grade to diffuse large-cell lymphoma.
These data indicate that the loss of CDKN2 expression may be involved in the pathogenesis of a subset of BCP-ALL, some high-grade NHL, and in the transformation of NHL from low- to high-grade disease.
Our study, therefore, indicates that deletion of P15 and P16 occurs in about 15% of diffuse large-cell NHL and is not usually detected by cytogenetic analysis.