Author Description

The discrimination between reactive and malignant cell populations in some patients with suspected T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders can be complicated and less straightforward. Often, the dilemma lies in determining whether a population of lymphocytes is reactive or neoplastic. In such cases, T-cell receptor (TCR)gene clonality studies have proved useful as an additional diagnostic tool. The TCRγ gene is a preferred target for TCR gene clonality as it is rearranged at an early stage of T lymphoid development, rearranged in a large percent of T-cell neoplasms, and also because of its relative structural simplicity.