IMMUNOLOGICAL AND CYTOCHEMICAL CELL MARKERS IN NON-HODGKINS LYMPHOMAS

Abstract

Lymph nodes were obtained from 28 patients with non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma and 24 patients without hematologic malignancy. Cases of undifferentiated lymphoma, diffuse histiocytic lymphoma, diffuse and nodular mixed histiocytic-lymphocytic lymphoma, nodular poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma and diffuse well differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma were analyzed. Touch preparations were stained for nonspecific esterases, peroxidase, Sudan black B activity and periodic acid Schiff and Wright-Giemsa reagents. Mononuclear cell suspensions from lymph nodes and, in some cases, peripheral blood were tested for spontaneous rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes and the presence of surface immunoglobulin. The remainder of the lymph node was examined after staining with hematoxylin and eosin. Analysis of the lymphocyte surface markers indicated that 15 cases of various histologic types of lymphoma were B [bone marrow-derived] cell proliferations. Three of 4 cases of diffuse poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma and 1 of 7 cases of diffuse histiocytic lymphoma appeared to represent T [thymus-derived] cell neoplasia. Lymph nodes from 4 cases of lymphoma representing diverse histologic types were replaced by neoplastic cells devoid of discernible cell markers. In 5 cases, the distribution of cell surface markers in the malignant lymph node failed to differ from data obtained in the analysis of nonneoplastic lymph nodes. The study indicates that the histopathologic entities recognized in the currently employed classification of lymphoreticular malignancies are heterogeneous. Alterations in the distribution of cell surface markers in the peripheral blood from 5 of 12 patients indicated involvement prior to demonstrable morphologic evidence of peripheral blood involvement in 4 patients and bone marrow infiltration in 2 patients.