A histomorphological study of regional lymphnodes in carcinomas of breast, stomach and colon.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Immune response plays an important role in the interaction between malignant neoplasms and their host, which is reflected as histologic changes in the lymph nodes draining tumours. MATERIAL: 641 regional lymph nodes from 64 primary carcinomas of breast, stomach and colon were examined to assess such a response. METHODS: The lymphnodes were classified into one of the following histological patterns--lymphocyte predominance (LP), germinal centre predominance (GCP), lymphocyte depletion (LD) and unstimulated (U). RESULTS: LP (T Cell response) was the frequently observed pattern in the lymph nodes of breast and stomach. A similar pattern was observed among the survivors irrespective of the involvement of lymph node with tumour. There was a significant association between the histologic pattern of lymph node and stage & grade of the disease in breast carcinoma. CONCLUSION: The correlation of lymph node histology with grade and extent of the disease & survival indicate that the immune system is important in regulating the growth of malignant neoplasms. Such information may help as prognostic indicator and as therapeutic guide for immunotherapy.