Immunohistochemical profile of Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Objective: To analyze the frequencies of histological types of lymphoma, diagnosed with complete immunohistochemical profile in younger and older age group

Study Design: Cross-sectional analytical study

Place and Duration of Study: Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, from January 2009 to September 2013

Methodology: Consecutive cases of lymphomas, which were diagnosed using immunohistochemistry, were analyzed according to WHO classification. Frequency and percentages for different types of lymphomas were calculated. Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas characteristics in two age groups of less than and more than 40 years were compared, applying chi-square test

Results: Out of the 318 cases, 79 [25%] were Hodgkin Lymphomas [HL] and 239 [75%] were Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas [NHL]. Mixed Cellularity Hodgkin Lymphoma [MCHL] was the commonest [n=48]. Amongst the NHL, 215 [89.95%] were B cell lymphomas and 24 [10.05%] were T-cell lymphomas. Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma [DLBCL] was the commonest lymphoma [n=165, 69.95% of NHL]. Anaplastic T-Cell Lymphoma [ALCL, n=10] was the commonest T-cell lymphoma. The frequency of HL was significantly higher in the younger age group and that of NHL was higher in the older age group [p < 0.001]. Primary lymph node involvement was reported in 175 [55%] and cervical lymph node was the most frequent site. Extra nodal involvement was seen in 93 [29%] of all cases and was reported in 87 [36.4%] of NHL and 6 [7.5%] of HL. The most common extra nodal site was the gastrointestinal tract

Conclusion: Hodgkin lymphoma comprises 25% and non-Hodgkin lymphoma comprises 75% of all lymphomas. Both occur in younger age groups than reported in the West. B-cell NHL is three times more common than T-cell lymphoma. DLBCL is the most frequent lymphoma. ALCL is the most common T-cell, and mixed cellularity is the most common Hodgkin lymphoma

Differential immune cell densities in ductal carcinoma In-Situ and invasive breast cancer: possible role of leukocytes in early stages of carcinogenesis

To investigate immune cell densities in pre-neoplastic [DCIS], cancer [IDC] and control breast tissues. A total of four preneoplastic, 104 cancer and 104 control samples were analyzed. Morphological classification and prognostic scoring along with quantification of immune cells/mm[2] was performed. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 16. Correlation of immune cell densities with various tumour sub-types was investigated using paired t-test and ANOVA. A p-value of <0.05 was considered as significant. Our data show increased infiltration of lymphocytes [mean lymphocytes = 287.6 cells/mm[2]] as well as myelocytes [mean lymphocytes = 117.1 cells/mm[2]] in pre-neoplastic tissues. This infiltration was significantly high compared to cancer [p-value<0.001] as well as control tissues [p-value <0.001]. Moreover, we report increased infiltration of lymphocytes in cancer tissues compared to controls [p-value<0.001]. There was no difference in lymphocyte densities within various tumour sub-types [all p-values >0.05]. Leukocytes may play a role in early stages of breast carcinogenesis