A patient develops an ovarian mass that is picked up on pelvic examination. Resection of the mass demonstrates a lymphoma composed of small lymphocytes with interspersed macrophages surrounded by clear spaces. This lesion would be most likely to be associated with which of the following?
The condition is Burkitt lymphoma (the major clue is the "starry sky" pattern described), which occurs as a jaw lesion in epidemic form in Africa (associated with Epstein-Barr virus) and in a sporadic form that usually involves the pelvic or abdominal organs. Burkitt lymphoma is associated with c-myc activation due to a t (8,14) translocation that places the c-myc-containing segment of chromosome 8 near an actively transcribed gene for immunoglobulin heavy chains. t (9,22) and abl-bcr hybrid are associated with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). t (14, 18) and bcl-2 are associated with follicular lymphomas, not Burkitt lymphoma.
abl-bcr hybrid
bcl-2 activation
c-myc activation
t (9,22)