Coronary risk assessment among intermediate risk patients using a clinical and biomarker based algorithm developed and validated in two population cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Many coronary heart disease (CHD) events occur in individuals classified as intermediate risk by commonly used assessment tools. Over half the individuals presenting with a severe cardiac event, such as myocardial infarction (MI), have at most one risk factor as included in the widely used Framingham risk assessment. Individuals classified as intermediate risk, who are actually at high risk, may not receive guideline recommended treatments. A clinically useful method for accurately predicting 5-year CHD risk among intermediate risk patients remains an unmet medical need. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to develop a CHD Risk Assessment (CHDRA) model that improves 5-year risk stratification among intermediate risk individuals. METHODS: Assay panels for biomarkers associated with atherosclerosis biology (inflammation, angiogenesis, apoptosis, chemotaxis, etc.) were optimized for measuring baseline serum samples from 1084 initially CHD-free Marshfield Clinic Personalized Medicine Research Project (PMRP) individuals. A multivariable Cox regression model was fit using the most powerful risk predictors within the clinical and protein variables identified by repeated cross-validation. The resulting CHDRA algorithm was validated in a Multiple-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) case-cohort sample. RESULTS: A CHDRA algorithm of age, sex, diabetes, and family history of MI, combined with serum levels of seven biomarkers (CTACK, Eotaxin, Fas Ligand, HGF, IL-16, MCP-3, and sFas) yielded a clinical net reclassification index of 42.7% (p < 0.001) for MESA patients with a recalibrated Framingham 5-year intermediate risk level. Across all patients, the model predicted acute coronary events (hazard ratio = 2.17, p < 0.001), and remained an independent predictor after Framingham risk factor adjustments. LIMITATIONS: These include the slightly different event definition with the MESA samples and inability to include PMRP fatal CHD events. CONCLUSIONS: A novel risk score of serum protein levels plus clinical risk factors, developed and validated in independent cohorts, demonstrated clinical utility for assessing the true risk of CHD events in intermediate risk patients. Improved accuracy in cardiovascular risk classification could lead to improved preventive care and fewer deaths.

Reliable and sensitive analysis of occult bone marrow metastases using automated cellular imaging.

The presence of occult bone marrow metastases (OM) has been reported to represent an important prognostic indicator for patients with operable breast cancer and other malignancies. Assaying for OM most commonly involves labor-intensive manual microscopic analysis. The present report examines the performance of a recently developed automated cellular image analysis system (ACIS; ChromaVision Medical Systems, Inc.) for identifying and enumerating OM in human breast cancer specimens. OM analysis was performed after immunocytochemical staining. Specimens used in this study consisted of normal bone marrow (n = 10), bone marrow spiked with carcinoma cells (n = 20), and bone marrow obtained from breast cancer patients (n = 39). The reproducibility of ACIS-assisted analysis for tumor cell detection was examined by having a pathologist evaluate montage images generated from multiple ACIS runs of five specimens. Independent ACIS-assisted analysis resulted in the detection of an identical number of tumor cells for each specimen in all instrument runs. Additional studies were performed to analyze OM from 39 breast cancer patients with two pathologists performing parallel analysis using either manual microscopy or ACIS-assisted analysis. In 17 of the 39 cases (44%), specimens were classified by the pathologist as positive for tumor cells after ACIS-assisted analysis, whereas the same pathologist failed to identify tumor cells on the same slides after analysis by manual microscopy. These studies indicate that the ACIS-assisted analysis provides excellent sensitivity and reproducibility for OM detection, relative to manual microscopy. Such performance may enable an improved approach for disease staging and stratifying patients for therapeutic intervention.

Recurrent abnormalities of chromosome bands 10q23-25 in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Many nonrandom chromosome abnormalities have been associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL). Some of these are nonspecific changes seen in many different histologic subtypes. We describe a series of abnormalities of chromosome bands 10q23-25 seen in 159 consecutive NHL patients with abnormal cytogenetic findings. The proportion of karyotypes with abnormalities of 10q varied from 3% among the immunoblastic lymphomas to 67% in the diffuse large cleaved cell lymphomas. Seventeen (10.7%) had abnormalities of 10q23-25. All but one of these were B-cell tumors. The abnormalities consisted of six deletions and 11 translocations. Sixteen of the 17 patients had the 10q abnormality when cells were first karyotyped. The remaining patient acquired the 10q abnormality in the third of a series of biopsies. In the follicular histologic subtypes [follicular small cleaved cell (FSC), follicular mixed small cleaved and large cell (FM), and follicular large cell noncleaved (FL-NC)], abnormalities of 10q were found in nine patients, all in association with abnormalities of 14q32. Seven of these were associated with the t(14;18)(q32;q21). Overall, 10q23-25 abnormalities were observed in 11.9% (8/67) of low-grade [small lymphocytic (SL), FSC, and FM] lymphoma cases. DNA was available from five patients with abnormalities of 10q and was probed for rearrangements with the HOXII (TCL3) oncogene probe. As expected, we did not find such rearrangements in these five patients with B-cell tumors. Abnormalities of 10q23-25 have been reported previously in NHL but not at this frequency.

Immunophenotypic and genotypic characterization of lymphomatoid papulosis.

BACKGROUND: Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is a chronic dermatosis that histologically resembles malignant lymphoma. Thus far, only a few cases of LyP have been characterized in detail with regard to immunophenotype, genotype, and karyotype. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to study seven patients with LyP and compare the results to those reported in the literature. METHODS: Skin biopsy specimens were analyzed by frozen section immunohistochemical and molecular biologic techniques. Cytogenetic analysis was also performed in three cases. RESULTS: The atypical lymphoid cells consisted of activated helper T cells; four of the seven patients had lesions with a detectable clonal T-cell population. A peripheral T-cell lymphoma developed in one patient before the emergence of a genotypically different LyP T-cell clone. Cytogenetic studies were abnormal in one case of LyP and normal in another, whereas the karyotype of the lymphoma was abnormal. CONCLUSION: LyP is a preneoplastic proliferation of activated helper T cells, which is often clonal and may regress and expand with the development of new LyP clones or lymphoma.

Significance of detection of occult non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in histologically uninvolved bone marrow by a culture technique.

Prolonged disease-free survival of patients with recurrent or resistant non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has been achieved with high-dose therapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT). A concern with the use of ABMT is that the marrow that is reinfused may contain undetected NHL cells with the potential to reestablish metastatic disease in the recipient. Using a culture technique that is sensitive for detecting occult lymphoma cells in BM, we analyzed histologically normal marrow harvests from 59 consecutive patients with intermediate- or high-grade NHL who were candidates for high-dose therapy and ABMT. The culture results indicated that 22 of the patients had occult lymphoma in their marrow. Forty-three patients underwent high-dose therapy followed by ABMT. Twenty-four achieved a complete clinical remission. Those with occult lymphoma in their harvests (11 patients) continued to relapse for up to 3 years, whereas no relapses were observed beyond 8 months in 13 patients receiving marrow that did not contain detectable lymphoma cells using the culture technique. The relapses in the patients who achieved a complete remission occurred at sites of prior bulky disease rather than at new sites, suggesting that the ability to detect occult lymphoma cells in marrow is a marker of biologic aggressiveness and/or resistance to therapy, or that the reinfused cells could only grow in previously involved sites. The detection of lymphoma cells in marrow used for ABMT is an important adverse prognostic factor, and appears to be independent of other clinical predictors of outcome such as sensitivity or resistance of disease to prior chemotherapy.

Interstitial cystitis: bladder mucosa lymphocyte immunophenotyping and peripheral blood flow cytometry analysis.

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic bladder disorder of unknown etiology that primarily afflicts women and is characterized by urgency and pain. Although immune mechanisms have been implicated in the disease process, little is known about the local or peripheral blood immune responses. Cryostat sections of snap-frozen bladder biopsies obtained by transurethral resection from 43 patients (24 with classical and 9 with nonulcerative or early interstitial cystitis, and 10 controls) were analyzed using a panel of monoclonal antibodies with an avidin-biotin immunoperoxidase technique to characterize the local immune response of bladder mucosa. Simultaneously obtained heparinized peripheral blood (10 cc) was analyzed by flow cytometry in 24 patients (9 with classical and 5 with nonulcerative early interstitial cystitis, and 10 controls) using the same panel of antibodies. The control group biopsies (median age 44 years, range 27 to 52 years) had no ulcers, few lymphoid cells (predominately T-helper cells), rare T cell nodules and no B cells. The nonulcer group (median age 39 years, range 29 to 44 years) had rare mucosal ruptures but no ulcers, slightly increased lymphoid cells (predominately T-helper), occasional T cell aggregates, no B cell nodules and rare plasma cells. No statistically significant difference between control and nonulcerative interstitial cystitis patients was identified. In contrast, the classical interstitial cystitis group (median age 68 years, range 47 to 73 years) had ulcers, intense inflammation with focal sheets of plasma cells, aggregates of T cells, B cell nodules including germinal centers, a decreased or normal helper-to-suppressor cell ratio and suppressor cytotoxic cells in germinal centers. Flow cytometry analysis of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets showed normal patterns in controls, increased numbers of secretory Ig positive B cells and activated lymphocytes in the nonulcerative group, and increased numbers of secretory Ig positive B cells with mildly abnormal kappa-to-lambda ratios and activated lymphocytes in the classical group. We conclude that an immune mechanism has at least a partial role in the pathophysiology of interstitial cystitis. A parallel between interstitial cystitis and inflammatory bowel disease is evident. Further studies are indicated.

Molecular gene rearrangement analysis in hematopathology.

The advent of monoclonal antibody technology revolutionized the understanding of lymphoid and myeloid differentiation and greatly enhanced the ability to make a more accurate diagnosis. However, certain limitations became evident as monoclonal antibodies were increasingly applied to diagnostic hematologic problems. The T-cell antigens identified by monoclonal antibodies are not true clonal markers. B-cell immunoglobulin light chain restriction is a true clonal marker, but immunoglobulin is not expressed by many B-cell malignancies, diminishing its usefulness as a clonal marker. The development of molecular biologic techniques to augment diagnosis of hematologic neoplasms has revolutionized the understanding of neoplasia. Gene rearrangement analysis yields information concerning clonality and lineage. Gene rearrangement analysis can also identify chromosome breakpoints and translocations that correlate with specific diseases or prognoses. The purpose of this review is to familiarize the reader with the current applications of molecular biology to hematologic processes and to chart future directions of the application of these powerful techniques to diagnostic hematopathology.

Lymphomatoid papulosis and progression to T cell lymphoma: an immunophenotypic and genotypic analysis.

A 37-year-old white man had untreated lymphomatoid papulosis for 12 years before a submandibular T cell immunoblastic lymphoma developed. A genetic abnormality, composed of extra chromosomal material attached to the short arm of chromosome 9, was detected in the lymphoma tissue but not in the skin. The lymphomatoid papulosis skin lesions did not manifest clonal T cell receptor gene rearrangements, but the submandibular lymphoma tissue was clonal and of T cell lineage. The patient's lymphoma responded well to combination chemotherapy, but the lymphomatoid papulosis remains active.

Acute myelogenous leukemia with eosinophilic differentiation and trisomy-1.

A 50-year-old woman presented with anemia and eosinophilia. Her bone marrow biopsy, peripheral blood, and clinical features were consistent with a diagnosis of an evolving acute myelogenous leukemia. Striking dysplastic eosinophilic differentiation associated with trisomy-1 was evident, and eosinophil granule major basic protein was detected in involved tissue. Trisomy-1 has not been previously reported in association with acute myelogenous leukemia showing eosinophilic differentiation. Intensive cytotoxic chemotherapy produced a short-lived clinical and cytogenetic remission. At autopsy multiple tumor nodules composed of dysplastic eosinophil precursors and myeloblasts were evident in multiple organs.

Epithelioid germinal centers in overwhelming childhood infections. The aftermath of nonspecific destruction of follicular B cells by natural killer cells.

The destruction of proliferating lymphoid cells within germinal centers with subsequent replacement by histiocytoid cells has been described in infants and children dying of viral and bacterial infections. The etiology and significance of "epithelioid germinal centers" (EGCs) are unknown. The cells implicated in forming EGCs have included histiocytes and dendritic reticulum cells. We have studied four children at autopsy who died at ages ranging from 10 months to 7 years. Three contracted fatal infections, one with fulminant meningococcemia, one with bacterial sepsis, and one with viral hepatitis. The fourth child contracted viral pneumonitis and died of acetaminophen toxicity. Epithelioid germinal centers were found in numerous lymphoid organs (spleen, lymph nodes, and Peyer's patches) in all four cases. Avidin-biotin complex immunohistochemical analysis performed on formalin-fixed splenic tissue from the first three cases and snap-frozen splenic tissue from the second case revealed an absence of B cells in the follicular centers. The mantle zones surrounding follicles were thin but intact. The histiocytoid cells expanding the germinal centers were positive for S100 and R4/23 (dendritic reticulum cells) and negative for numerous histiocyte markers (alpha 1-antitrypsin, alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, and lysozyme). Increased numbers of killer cells (Leu-7) were present within the affected germinal centers in the three cases in which material was available for immunohistochemical studies. Overwhelming infections in these patients seem to result in anomalous natural killer cell activation resulting in localized nonselective destruction of follicular centers similar to anomalous natural killer cell activity reported to occur in fatal infectious mononucleosis. This may lead to an acquired immunodeficiency that precludes long-term survival in affected patients.

Castleman's disease of the leptomeninges. Report of three cases.

Castleman's disease is a rare, benign lymphoproliferative disorder that usually arises in lymph nodes, most commonly in the mediastinum. The authors report the clinical and pathological features of three patients with localized Castleman's disease of the leptomeninges. There were two women, aged 63 and 82 years, and one 25-year-old man. Two patients had progressive focal motor seizures of 3 and 24 months' duration, and the third patient presented acutely with generalized seizures. The clinical diagnosis was meningioma in each case, based on computerized tomography scans, cerebral arteriography, and the operative findings. All three lesions arose in the leptomeninges, compressed the underlying cerebral cortex, and infiltrated the overlying dura to a variable extent. Surgical excision of the tumor resulted in marked clinical improvement in all three patients. Histologically, two cases were classified as the hyaline-vascular type and one as the plasma cell type. Immunohistochemical stains of the latter case revealed a monoclonal population of mature plasma cells. Only a few scattered polyclonal plasma cells were seen in the other two cases. The authors conclude that Castleman's disease involving the leptomeninges is a rare disorder that may mimic meningioma clinically and radiographically.

Correlation of secondary cytogenetic abnormalities with histologic appearance in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas bearing t(14;18)(q32;q21).

Successful cytogenetic studies were performed on 69 biopsies from 64 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma bearing a t(14;18)(q32;q21) translocation. This translocation appears to be a primary abnormality associated with the development of certain B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. We correlated the occurrence of secondary abnormalities, in addition to the t(14;18)(q32;q21), with histologic subtype to test the hypothesis that secondary abnormalities correlate with more aggressive histologic appearance. A large number of secondary abnormalities were identified, the most frequent being additional copies of chromosomes 7 (30%), 12 (22%), 18 (22%), 20 (16%), or 21 (14%), deletion of a portion of the long arm of chromosome 6 (17%), and either an additional chromosome 17 or an isochromosome for the long arm of chromosome 17 (13%). An extra chromosome 7 was highly associated with a diffuse histologic pattern; it was present in 52% of patients with a diffuse pattern and in only 15% of those with a follicular pattern (P = .002). A weaker association with a diffuse growth pattern was found for the addition of chromosome 17 or an i(17q); it was found in 24% of patients with a diffuse pattern and only 5% of those with a follicular pattern (P = .05). No other significant correlations between secondary chromosome abnormalities and histologic subtype were identified. Although the explanation for this association is not clear, it appears that patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas bearing the t(14;18)(q32;q21) translocation which also have an additional chromosome 7 are likely to exhibit a diffuse growth pattern.

Soluble interleukin 2 receptors in patients with malignant lymphoma.

We performed a retrospective analysis of serum interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R) levels in a group of 35 patients with malignant lymphoma (ML; 13 T cell and 22 B cell) using a new enzyme immunoassay. Our objectives were to determine if elevated levels of soluble IL-2R occur in patients with active ML, whether serum IL-2R levels are prognostic, and whether prospective studies are warranted. Our preliminary data indicate that serum IL-2R levels correlate with disease activity and size of tumor, but not with grade or stage of the tumor. Five-year actuarial survival was 20% for patients with IL-2R levels greater than 1000 U/mL at any time during their course and 86% for patients who did not exceed that threshold. Furthermore, patients with IL-2R levels lower than 1000 U/mL were more likely to achieve a complete remission. Serum lactate dehydrogenase and uric acid levels did not show significant correlation with disease activity or prognosis. We conclude that serum IL-2R levels may have clinical and prognostic significance in patients with ML and that prospective studies are indicated.

Epstein-Barr virus--associated lymphoproliferative lesions.

From this review of the natural history of EBV infection in humans, it is clear that the virus has evolved to a symbiotic state with humans. Once individuals are infected, EBV establishes a permanent infection that is maintained at a low level by replication of the virus in the oropharyngeal region with subsequent seeding of circulating B-lymphocytes. Individuals with normal immune systems are able to control the pronounced proliferative potential of EBV-infected cells and thus prevent the emergence of lymphoproliferations. Disease states result when the immune system is altered by other infections, developmental conditions, immunosuppressive agents, or debilitating circumstances such as cancer or starvation. In some cases, localized lymphoproliferations resembling large-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas can result that are monoclonal by immunoglobulin gene rearrangement studies. Remarkably, many of the localized masses will regress if the immunosuppressive agents or condition can be ameliorated in these individuals. In patients with hereditary immune deficiencies, these localized masses can progress to a fatal disease without further cytogenetic events. Burkitt's lymphoma, which is associated with EBV infection, appears to result when EBV-driven lymphoproliferations undergo cytogenetic translocations involving predominantly chromosome 8. Most of the conditions that are associated with EBV can be diagnosed by accurate application of EBV-serology, examination of peripheral blood films, a careful history and physical examination, and, in some cases, more sophisticated techniques such as the establishment of lymphoblastoid cell lines, EBNA staining, DNA probes, and pedigree analysis.

Malignant lymphoma in Nebraska and Guangzhou, China: a comparative study.

Two hundred thirty-four consecutive cases of malignant lymphoma (192 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and 42 Hodgkin's disease) from Guangzhou, China, and 589 cases (498 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and 91 Hodgkin's disease) from the University of Nebraska Lymphoma Registry were examined in a retrospective histopathologic analysis and the results compared to those of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Working Formulation Summary. Aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was excessive in Guangzhou (82.3 per cent; P less than 0.001) and Nebraska (80.3 per cent; P less than 0.001) when compared with the NCI data (54.2 per cent). The small noncleaved cell, lymphoblastic, and diffuse mixed-cell subtypes were more frequent in China (15.6 per cent each; P less than 0.001), whereas the small lymphocytic, follicular large cell, and immunoblastic subtypes predominated in Nebraska (8 per cent, 8.4 per cent, and 21.8 per cent, respectively; P less than 0.001). The overall median age of onset for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was 42.0 years in Guangzhou and 63.5 years in Nebraska. Hodgkin's disease represented 18 per cent of the malignant lymphomas in Guangzhou and 15 per cent in Nebraska. The mixed-cellularity type was most common in Guangzhou (52 per cent; P less than 0.001) and the nodular-sclerosing type in Nebraska (56 per cent; P less than 0.010). The low median age and excess of certain aggressive subtypes of non-Hodgkin's disease in Guangzhou suggest a possible viral etiology, whereas the excess of certain subtypes of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in Nebraska may be related to intense agricultural activity.

Malignant lymphoma in the X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome.

Male patients with the X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome (XLP) have an inherited immune deficiency to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection that results in fatal infectious mononucleosis (IM), acquired hypogammaglobulinemia- or agammaglobulinemia, virus-associated hemophagocytic syndrome, and non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma (ML). A clinicopathologic analysis of 17 patients with XLP who developed ML was performed. The median age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 4.0 years (range, 2-19 years). The median overall survival was 12 months (range, 1-216 months). Eight patients had maternally related male relatives with ML. Other phenotypes of XLP were documented in male relatives of the remaining nine patients. Common presenting symptoms were fever, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Nine patients had "B" symptoms. All ML occurred at extranodal sites. The intestines, most commonly ileocecal, were involved in 76.5% of the cases. Thirteen patients had localized disease (Stages I and II) and four patients had advanced disease (Stages III and IV). A diffuse histologic pattern of growth was observed in all cases. The distribution of histologic subtypes included small noncleaved (41.2%), large noncleaved (17.6%), immunoblastic (17.6%), small cleaved or mixed cell (11.8%), and unclassifiable (5.9%) ML. Surgical resection, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy resulted in disease-free survivals of up to 192 months in eight patients (median 114 months; range, 12-192 months). Eight of 17 patients (47%) are still alive. A median survival of only 6.0 months (range, 1-12 months) was observed in the nine patients who died. No residual ML was found at autopsy. The small noncleaved subtype had an adverse prognosis (seven of nine deaths versus one of eight survivors; P less than 0.05). Bacterial infection was the major cause of death (seven of nine patients). Characteristics that distinguish ML in XLP from other ML include a maternal family history of XLP, early age of onset, acquired hypogammaglobulinemia, post-EBV infection, and ileocecal involvement.

Monoclonal antibodies marking T lymphocytes in paraffin-embedded tissue.

The authors investigated the ability of 70 monoclonal antibodies obtained from the Third International Workshop on Human Leukocyte Antigens (Oxford, 1986) to mark T lymphocytes in B5-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. No staining occurred with 65 of the antibodies; however, 5 antibodies marked small lymphocytes in the T-cell areas of human tonsil. Two antibodies which strongly labeled lymphocytes, UCHL1 and T2/48, were used to examine 106 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 29 cases of Hodgkin's disease, and a variety of normal and neoplastic tissues. UCHL1 and T2/48 each marked 86% (37/43) of B5-fixed T-cell lymphomas. Only 50% of formalin-fixed T-cell lymphomas were marked with these antibodies. UCHL1 marked 1.8% (1/56) of the B-cell lymphomas, compared with T2/48, which marked 19.6% (11/56) of the B-cell lymphomas. T2/48 had the interesting attribute of marking cells of the follicular mantle-zone and intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma, suggesting that the antibody recognizes a B-cell differentiation antigen. No Reed-Sternberg cells, epithelial neoplasms, sarcomas, neurogenic tumors, or normal nonlymphoid tissue were marked by either antibody. These antibodies successfully mark T cells in paraffin tissue sections and should aid in the investigation and characterization of abnormal lymphoid proliferations, "undifferentiated" malignant neoplasms, and immunologically mediated disorders.