When and how to test for C-MYC in aggressive B cell lymphomas

C-MYC (MYC) is a regulator gene that plays an important role in cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and cellular transformation. It is believed to regulate expression of up to 15 % of all human genes. In recent years, C-MYC has been extensively studied in blastic B cell lymphomas, and currently C-MYC is regarded not only as a diagnostic tool, but also a promising prognostic biomarker. C-MYC testing is therefore no longer simply a confirmational analysis for Burkitt’s lymphoma, but also provides important information on prognosis and risk stratification of diffuse large B cell lymphoma patients. This review outlines our approach to integrate this new role of C-MYC in a convenient way in routine diagnostics and discusses the application of different techniques such as immunohistochemistry and FISH for C-MYC testing.