lewis-x-antigen and Leukemia--Lymphocytic--Chronic--B-Cell

Topics: Biopsy, Fine-Needle; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; Diagnosis, Differential; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Ki-1 Antigen; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Lymphadenopathy; Male; Middle Aged

We report the clinical and immunohistological features of two cases of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) with Hodgkin's transformation. These cases occurred in a 70-year-old man with a three-year history of CLL and in a 76-year-old man with a few months history of CLL. Microscopic examination showed the presence of large tumor cells with the morphological and immunophenotypic features of classical Hodgkin and Reed-Sternberg (R-S) cells, in a background of otherwise typical B-CLL. The transformation of CLL into large B cell lymphoma (Richter's syndrome) is a well-documented phenomenon. Only rarely does CLL transform into Hodgkin's lymphoma, but this diagnosis is often easy and offers few differential diagnoses. The major points of interest lie in the pathogenetic relationship between CLL and Hodgkin's disease, and in the potential clinical implications of this peculiar condition. Literature on the subject indicates that identical IgH gene rearrangements in micromanipulated R-S and CLL cells have been identified in 7/12 cases. In these patients, the R-S and CLL cells belong to the same clonal population, suggesting a progression from the underlying CLL cells. This group appears to have a poor prognosis, identical to classical Richter's syndrome. In other cases, the R-S cells were often Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) positive and did not share the clonal rearrangements identified in CLL cells, suggesting that Hodgkin's disease in these patients could represent a second malignancy, EBV-related and favored by immunosuppression, associated with a better prognosis.

Topics: Acute Disease; Aged; Antibodies; Antigens, CD; CD79 Antigens; Genetic Variation; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Male; Neoplasm Staging; Reed-Sternberg Cells

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by a clonal expansion of small lymphocytes commonly expressing cell surface markers (CD5 and CD19) that are consistent with a population of B lymphocytes. This unit describes a technique to measure ZAP-70 protein expression in whole-blood specimens from CLL samples. The protocols presented include an optimized fixation/permeabilization technique that allows labeling of cell surface markers and intracellular ZAP-70 protein with significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio, an optimized combination of antibodies-fluorophores to maximize ZAP-70 expression levels, standardized methodology for instrument setup, including compensation, to improve inter- and intra-laboratory reproducibility, and a method to index ZAP-70 protein expression levels to internal positive and negative cell populations. Residual normal T and B cells function as internal positive and negative controls. These are used to index ZAP-70 protein expression levels in the CLL population.

Topics: Antigens, CD; B-Lymphocytes; CD5 Antigens; Cell Membrane Permeability; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Reference Values; T-Lymphocytes; ZAP-70 Protein-Tyrosine Kinase

The study was aimed to investigate the immunophenotypic and cytogenetic features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in order to provide an evidence for diagnosis and therapy. Immunophenotypic analysis was performed by using a panel of monoclonal antibodies and three-color immunofluorescence staining methods of flow cytometry in 51 patients with CLL, and the cytogenetic features were analyzed by R-banding technique. The results indicated that among 51 CLL cases, the positive rate of CD19 and CD23 was 96.1%, followed by CD15 (94.1%), CD20 (82.4%) and CD22 (78.4%). The positive rate of CD38 was 23.5%. Forty-six patients expressed both CD5 and CD19. Seven main clonal chromosomal abnormalities were detected by conventional cytogenetics (CC) in eighteen cases (35.3%), with three cases of +12, two cases of 13q(-), other chromosomal abnormalities included +14, 6q(-), t (11; 14), t (14; 18) and t (2; 7). Expression of the antigens had no relationship with chromosomal abnormalities. It is concluded that typical CLL express CD5, CD19 and CD23, and the positive rate detected by CC in CLL is low. Immunophenotyping in combination with cytogenetic technique plays an important role in the diagnosis and prognosis of CLL.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Antigens, CD; Antigens, CD19; Antigens, CD20; Chromosome Aberrations; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 13; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Immunophenotyping; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Male; Middle Aged; Translocation, Genetic

Large cell lymphomas and Hodgkin disease may develop during the course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In some cases the transformed cells are Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive and not clonally related to the CLL cells. In other cases the transformed cells have the same clonal rearrangements as the CLL cells. Here we describe a composite lymphoma in a patient with CLL that exhibits a combination of CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma, large cell lymphoma with anaplastic morphology, and Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). Although the large cell lymphoma cells are CD45R0 and TIA-1-positive, suggesting a T- or 0-cell anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), the genetic analysis demonstrates immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) gene rearrangements for both alleles, carrying the same somatic mutations as observed in the CLL component. The Reed-Sternberg (R-S) cells in the Hodgkin component also strongly express TIA-1 but differ from the anaplastic large cells by the expression of CD15 and TARC and the presence of a prominent lymphocytic infiltrate. The ALCL and HL components both are EBV negative. Analysis of the IgH gene rearrangements in micromanipulated R-S cells revealed identical Ig gene rearrangements carrying the same somatic mutations as the CLL and the large cell components. The findings indicate transformation of the CLL cells into a large cell lymphoma with anaplastic morphology and a Hodgkin component.

Topics: Aged; Base Sequence; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; Chemokine CCL17; Chemokines, CC; Clone Cells; Gene Rearrangement, B-Lymphocyte, Heavy Chain; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; Immunophenotyping; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse; Male; Membrane Proteins; Molecular Sequence Data; Mutation; Poly(A)-Binding Proteins; Proteins; Reed-Sternberg Cells; RNA-Binding Proteins; T-Cell Intracellular Antigen-1

We report Hodgkin's disease arising in a 68-year-old patient with a history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia for 8 years. The patient presented with a 4-month history of weakness, loss of appetite, and a 15-pound weight loss. A bone marrow biopsy showed two distinct histologic types of lymphoma: chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Hodgkin's disease. Immunohistochemical studies showed that chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells were composed of kappa-light chain-restricted monoclonal B cells. The Reed-Sternberg cells expressed CD15. Epstein-Barr virus RNA was not identified in either the Reed-Sternberg cells or cells of chronic lymphocytic leukemia by in situ hybridization. To our knowledge, this is the second reported case of composite Hodgkin's disease and chronic lymphocytic leukemia involving the bone marrow.

Topics: Aged; Antigens, CD20; Biopsy; Bone Marrow Neoplasms; Female; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Immunoenzyme Techniques; Immunohistochemistry; In Situ Hybridization; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary; Reed-Sternberg Cells; RNA, Viral

The surface antigens expressed by the cells of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are well known. Most CLL are monoclonal B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders characterized by the coexpression of B-cell antigens and CD5, an antigen present predominantly on T cells. Very little attention, however, has been paid to the quantitative characteristics of the expression of B-cell antigens in CLL. In this study, we used flow cytometry to analyze the expression of CD20, a well-known B-cell-associated antigen, in lymphocytes from 42 cases of CLL and its tissue counterpart, small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and compared the results with results obtained from the analysis of 21 follicular lymphomas, 20 hyperplastic reactive nodes, and 26 samples of normal peripheral blood. The intensity of CD20 expression in the CLL/SLL cells was significantly lower than that of B cells in the other categories. This antigen expression abnormality does not appear to be a universal phenomenon in CLL/SLL, since CD19, another pan-B antigen, was expressed in CLL/SLL at levels higher than those in follicular lymphomas and comparable to those in reactive lymph nodes. These results indicate that the low CD20 expression can be used as a marker for CLL/SLL. The few cases exhibiting intense CD20 expression may represent a biologically different disease. CLL/SLL cells faintly expressing CD20 also show concomitant low CD5 expression in a manner not observed in normal CD5-expressing B cells.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antigens, CD; Antigens, CD20; Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte; Biomarkers, Tumor; CD5 Antigens; Flow Cytometry; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Gene Expression; Humans; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Middle Aged; T-Lymphocytes

The pathogenesis of Reed-Sternberg cells and variants (RS-H cells) found in rare cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) is unknown. We studied 13 such cases by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization for identification of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) RNA. The RS-H cells in five cases expressed the B-lineage marker CD20 and were negative for CD15. In two cases, the RS-H cells showed expression of both CD20 and CD15, whereas in another six cases, the cells were positive for CD15 but negative for CD20. Three of the cases expressing CD15 showed subsequent evidence of disseminated Hodgkin's disease. Regardless of the phenotype or clinical behavior, the RS-H cells in 12 of 13 cases were found to contain EBV RNA by in situ hybridization, but the surrounding neoplastic lymphocytes were invariably negative for EBV RNA. It is suggested that EBV has an important role in the pathogenesis of the RS-H cells in these rare cases.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antigens, CD; Antigens, CD20; Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; DNA, Viral; Female; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Male; Middle Aged; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Phenotype; Reed-Sternberg Cells; RNA, Viral

The association of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Hodgkin's disease has been controversial. Pleomorphic lymphoreticular cells resembling Reed-Sternberg cells have been observed in Richter's syndrome. Although most observers have favored the view that these cells are a component of a pleomorphic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, some cases of histologically typical Hodgkin's disease have been described. We have studied two cases that appear to represent composite CLL and Hodgkin's disease, providing evidence for an interrelationship of these two disorders. Classic Reed-Sternberg cells and variants (RS-H) were seen in a background that was otherwise typical of CLL. Both patients initially presented with characteristic findings of CLL in the peripheral blood and bone marrow. The first patient was found to have RS-H cells within lymph nodes at initial presentation, and ultimately progressed to develop a disseminated lymphoma characteristic of Hodgkin's disease. In the second patient, RS-H cells were not discovered until 5 years later. Immunophenotypic studies confirmed these morphologic impressions. The predominant lymphocyte population had a phenotype consistent with B-cell CLL. By contrast, the RS-H cells were strongly positive for CD15 (Leu M1) with staining of the Golgi region and cell membrane. Additionally, the RS-H cells were surrounded by rosettes of lymphocytes that marked as T cells. In both of the patients, a small percentage of RS-H cells expressed positivity for the B-cell marker L-26, which may indicate an origin from the underlying CLL. These findings support a B-cell origin for the malignant cell in some cases of Hodgkin's disease and suggest that Hodgkin's disease in some patients may be related to or derived from a coexisting lymphoid malignancy.

Topics: Antigens, Differentiation; B-Lymphocytes; Biopsy; Cell Membrane; Golgi Apparatus; Hodgkin Disease; Humans; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Immunohistochemistry; Immunophenotyping; Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell; Lewis X Antigen; Lymph Nodes; Male; Middle Aged