Twelve B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas with BCL6/LAZ3 rearrangement selected from a series of 30 lymphomas with cytogenetically detectable 3qter abnormalities were characterized at the histological, clinical, and cytogenetic levels, including fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis, which was performed in all cases but one. A classical t(3;14) and t(3;22) were found in three patients (25%). In the remaining cases, eleven different 3q27 abnormalities were demonstrated and characterized with the use of chromosome painting. Seven of twelve "variant" rearrangements identified in our series affecting 1p32, 1p34, 3p14, 6q23, 12p13, 14q11, and 16p13 have not been reported before. Moreover, involvement of both homologs of chromosome 3 in distinct translocations was detected as an unexpected result in two cases and was confirmed via FISH in a third case. The putative bichromosomal rearrangements of the 3q27 region were evidenced by Southern analysis in one of these cases. In another case, FISH with a cosmid spanning the 3q27 breakpoint region demonstrated the involvement of BCL6/LAZ3 only in one of two t(3q27). In our series, which was selected on cytogenetic and molecular criteria, 50% (6 of 12) of cases with BCL6/LAZ3 rearrangement were diagnosed as diffuse, large B-cell lymphomas (DLCL). Another 33% (4 of 12) of cases were diagnosed as follicular center lymphomas (FL), with t(14;18)/BCL2 rearrangement in all but one case. Furthermore, in three follicular lymphoma cases in which multiple samples were analyzed, the disease showed no evidence of histological progression during a follow-up period of 3-14 years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)