Microsatellite instability in KSHV/HHV-8 positive body-cavity-based lymphoma

Body-cavity-based lymphoma (BCBL) is a rare non-Hodgkin-'s lymphoma (NHL) type growing in liquid phase in the body cavities. Virtually all BCBL associate with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus/human herpesvirus type-8 infection in the absence of molecular alterations typical of other NHL categories. Microsatellite instability (MSI), a specific variant of genomic instability frequently associated with human cancers, has not been tested in BCBL thus far. In this report, we have analyzed the presence of MSI in the tumor cells of a male patient affected by AIDS-related BCBL. The genomic configuration of 12 distinct microsatellite loci was investigated by polymerase chain reaction amplification of DNA obtained from the patient's tumor cells and from autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells. MSI was observed at 4/12 microsatellite repeats tested. Absence of the germline allele at one microsatellite locus mapping to chromosome X indicates that, in this BCBL case, MSI represents a clonal genetic lesion affecting virtually all tumor cells. These data suggest that MSI may be potentially involved in the pathogenesis of AIDS-related BCBL.