B-cell malignancies: capture-sequencing strategies for identification of gene rearrangements and translocations into immunoglobulin gene loci

Abstract

Aberrant chromosomal translocations involving the immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) locus and clonal rearrangements of the variable (V), diversity (D), joining (J) segments (V[D]J) of the immunoglobulin gene are implicated in the initiation of mature B-cell malignan-cies, including myeloma. Analysis of these events provides information useful for diagnosis and prediction of prognosis, and also provides a useful monitoring strategy for response to treatment in patients with these diseases. Current methods for identification of these events are not generally applicable and give a biased picture of the prognostic significance and clinical relevance of these events. Novel methodologies based on next-generation sequencing are a new and more efficient genetic tool that can be used to screen and characterize these changes at the nucleotide level, offering a deeper and better understanding of the genetic basis of these complex diseases. In this work, we provide a review of the molecular basis of B-cell neoplasms, the methods used to detect them, and how they translate into the clinic.