Incidence and Clinical Significance of Aberrant T-Cell Marker Expression on Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Cells

Abstract

Introduction: Aberrant expression of T-cell markers is occasionally observed in B-cell lymphomas. We conducted a retrospective study to establish its incidence and to determine its relationship with clinical features of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Patients and Methods: We reviewed DLBCL patients diagnosed between January 2002 and April 2009. Patients fulfilled the following criteria: (1) age >18 years, (2) HIV negative, (3) B-cell lymphoma confirmed by restricted expression of surface immunoglobulin light chains by flow cytometry (FCM). Aberrant T-cell marker expression (ATCME) was defined as positivity for CD2, CD3, CD4, CD7, and/or CD8 on DLBCL cells by FCM. Phenotyping was also performed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Patients were grouped according to positive or negative ATCME and their clinical features including survival were compared. Results: Of 150 patients, 11 (7.3%) showed ATCME; CD2 and CD7 were most often expressed. ATCME was less often detected and the signal was weaker using IHC. There were no statistically significant differences in clinical features between the two groups. Conclusions: FCM may be useful to detect ATCME in a small amount of lymphoma cells. The mechanism responsible for ATCME, and whether it contributes in any way to the pathogenesis of B-cell neoplastic transformation, requires clarification.

Clinical and prognostic significance of aberrant T-cell marker expression in 225 cases ofde novodiffuse large B-cell lymphoma and 276 cases of other B-cell lymphomas

“…To our knowledge, no survival data of T-cell marker-positive DLBCL has been presented in a large number of patients (>150 patients) uniformly treated with R-CHOP-based chemotherapy. Suzuki et al [31] were the first to investigate prognostic implications of T-cell markers other than CD5 in DLBCLs, and they showed that such expression was not associated with outcome, consistent with the present findings. However, in the study by Suzuki et al , [31] the survival data for only 92 patients treated with rituximab-based chemotherapy were available, and the frequency of T-cell marker other than CD5expression was only assessed in the DLBCL population.…”

“…Suzuki et al [31] were the first to investigate prognostic implications of T-cell markers other than CD5 in DLBCLs, and they showed that such expression was not associated with outcome, consistent with the present findings. However, in the study by Suzuki et al , [31] the survival data for only 92 patients treated with rituximab-based chemotherapy were available, and the frequency of T-cell marker other than CD5expression was only assessed in the DLBCL population. Additionally, in the survival analysis, only T-cell markers other than CD5 were evaluated, and co-expression of CD5 was not demonstrated.…”

“…Although B-cell lymphomas with T-cell markers other than CD5, such as CD8 + CLL [5–13] or CD2/CD3/CD4/CD7/CD8 + large B-cell lymphoma [13–31] have been reported (Table 1), data regarding their frequency, histopathological distribution, and clinical features are rarely available, because the number of identified cases in each report is small. This rarity may partly be attributed to the differences in the immunophenotypic procedures used.…”

CD7-Positive Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Presenting as an Intranasal Tumor

“…is means that clonally restricted B-cells in our DLBCL case express CD7. Suzuki et al reported that aberrant T-cell marker expression detected by FCM could be confirmed in some, but not in all, cases detected by IHC [6]. ey reported that among 6 CD7positive cases by FCM, only 3 were confirmed to be positive for CD7 by IHC.…”

“…In contrast, there was no significant difference in prognosis between T-cell marker-positive DLBCL other than CD5 and T-cell marker-negative DLBCL. Furthermore, Suzuki et al reported 150 cases of DLBCL; however, the clinicopathological significance and prognosis of CD7 in DLBCL are still unknown [6].…”