ABSTRACT
Lymphocytes are frequently affected by neoplastic mutations, perhaps as a consequence of their intense mitotic activity. Lymphocyte malignancies can be broadly classified into B-cell and T-cell malignancies. B-cell malignancies (or dyscrasias) are identified by the production of abnormally high amounts of homogeneous immunoglobulins (or fragments thereof) resulting from the monoclonal proliferation of immunoglobulin-secreting B cells or plasma cells, or by the proliferation of lymphocytes or lymphocyte precursors expressing specific B-cell markers. T-cell malignancies (or dyscrasias) are defined as proliferations of lymphocytes or their precursors expressing T-cell membrane markers.
