Anti-interleukin-1 reactive cells in Hodgkin's disease

Abstract

Constitutional symptoms (or B‐symptoms) of Hodgkin's disease may be mediated by interleukin 1 (IL‐1), a product of macrophage‐histiocytes. To further study this relation, the authors examined the cells that reacted with anti‐human IL‐1 antibody in biopsy specimens from 140 untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease (72 asymptomatic patients and 68 with B‐symptoms). Fever was the most common symptom, present in 57 of the 68 patients. Anti‐IL‐1 reactive cells were observed in 62 cases. A positive staining reaction was observed in three types of cells: Reed‐Sternberg and related (R‐S) cells (33 cases); small to medium cells of undetermined origin (18); and granulocytes (11). The staining was negative in 78 cases, including 42 with B‐symptoms. The majority of tumors (27/33) with positively stained R‐S cells were from asymptomatic patients. Most tumors (14/18) with positively stained small to medium sized cells were from patients with B‐symptoms. Large numbers of granulocytes were positively stained in five asymptomatic patients and six with B‐symptoms. The immunohistochemical demonstration of IL‐1‐bearing cells in tumors does not correlate with the manifestation of constitutional symptoms in Hodgkin's disease.