Research in Molecular Medicine

en Prediction of Immunoglobulin/c-myc t(8;14) Gene Translocation in Burkitt Lymphoma by Immunohistochemistry آسيب شناسي Pathology پژوهشي Research Background: Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is a common and aggressive childhood cancer in East and Central Africa. Confirming the diagnosis using molecular tests, such as immunoglobulin (Ig)/c-myc t(14;8) gene translocation is difficult in many low-resource settings. This study aimed to examine whether a simpler laboratory method, immunohistochemistry (IHC) for MYC protein, could reliably predict the presence of the Ig/c-myc, t(14;8) gene translocation in tumors from children with eBL treated at a referral hospital in Western Kenya. Methods: Tumor tissue samples from 22 children and adolescents (≤ 18 years) diagnosed with eBL in 2013 were randomly selected from hospital block archives. MYC protein expression was assessed using IHC on thin tissue sections, while the presence of the Ig/c-myc t(14;8) gene translocation was confirmed using both IHC and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Demographic and clinical information were obtained from hospital records and structured interviews. Results: About one quarter of the reviewed cases were confirmed as eBL by both IHC and FISH. Most (78.8%) of these cases were boys, with an average age of 8.8 years. A high level of agreement (86.7%) was observed between MYC protein detection by IHC and the presence of the Ig/c-myc t(14;8) gene translocation by FISH. This showed that MYC by IHC closely reflects the underlying Ig/c-myc t(14;8) genetic change in the studied tumors. Children whose tumors showed MYC abnormalities tended to have poorer treatment outcomes (ρ = 0.344). Conclusion: Detecting MYC protein using IHC is a reliable and practical way to predict the presence of the Ig/c-myc t(14;8) translocation in eBL tumors. When used together with other tumor markers, MYC by IHC can improve diagnostic accuracy and help guide timely treatment decisions in low- and middle-income countries Burkitt lymphoma, cmyc genes, immunohistochemistry 0 0 http://rmm.mazums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1452-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Isaac Ndede indede@mu.ac.ke 1 100319475328460013823 Yes Department of Pathology, Immunology Section, Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya. Simeon K Mining smining57@gmail.com 100319475328460013824 100319475328460013824 No Department of Pathology, Immunology Section, Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya. Kirtika Patel kirtikap@gmail.com 100319475328460013825 100319475328460013825 No Department of Pathology, Immunology Section, Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya. Fredrick M Wanjala fmuyoma@gmail.com 100319475328460013826 100319475328460013826 No Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya. David Chumba dchumba@yahoo.com 100319475328460013827 100319475328460013827 No Department of Pathology, Histopathology and Cytology Section, Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya. Constance Tenge cntenge@yahoo.co.uk 100319475328460013828 100319475328460013828 No Department of Child Health, Moi University School of Medicine, Eldoret, Kenya.