Clinical features of Hodgkin's disease in Cuba and Sweden.

A clinical study of 182 Swedish and 164 Cuban consecutive adult patients with Hodgkin's disease was performed comparing age, sex, histopathology, clinical stage, symptoms, and various laboratory tests. A bimodal age distribution was observed which was more pronounced in the Swedish series. A male/female ratio 1.8/1.0 in both samples was observed. Nodular sclerosis and Stage IA and IIA were more common in Swedish patients while in the Cuban, mixed cellularity and Stage IIIB and IVB dominated in patients below fifty years of age. The Swedish patients exhibited an age distribution similar to that found in other industrialized Western countries, while the Cuban patients had an age distribution pattern typical for countries with an intermediate epidemiological pattern.

Ammoniacal silver staining of lymph node cells. II. Reactive follicular hyperplasia and its relationship with Hodgkin's disease.

Lymph node biopsy specimens from 150 cases of reactive follicular hyperplasia, 52 cases of Hodgkin's disease and 30 cases of chronic lymphadenitis were studied. Clinical follow-up of cases for a period of two years at least was also considered. Formalin fixed and paraffin embedded tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and ammoniacal silver. Cytoplasmic accumulations of basic proteins were evidence in 30 out of 150 cases, but only 27 of these cases presented new lymph nodes with histological setting of Hodgkin's disease. The data suggest possible relationship between reactive follicular hyperplasia and Hodgkin's disease. However this relationship is not absolute as documented by two cases that being negative for the ammoniacal silver staining, were later diagnosed as Hodgkin's disease. Different types of atypical cells occurring in lymph nodes of reactive follicular hyperplasia were also studied. The potential use of ammoniacal silver staining in the early diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease is discussed.

Ammoniacal silver staining of lymph node cells. I. its potential value for the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease.

Lymph node biopsy specimens from 76 cases of Hodgkin's disease, 23 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas and 19 reactive affections of lymph nodes were studied. Formalin-fixed and paraffin embedded tissues were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and post-formalin ammoniacal silver staining was used after BLACK and ANSLEY. The presence of basic protein accumulation in the cytoplasm of both Sternberg and Hodgkin cells was confirmed. To our knowledge it is the first report concerning the presence of these accumulations in the cytoplasma of atypical reticulum cells in Hodgkin's disease and in 3 of 7 cases of reactive follicular hyperplasia, in foreign body giant cells and in some lymphoblasts from 5 cases of Hodgkin's disease. The possibility of using the ammoniacal silver staining for identifying Sternberg cells is discussed. Also, it is proposed that when Sternberg cells are absent, the ammoniacal silver staining pattern of Hodgkin cells in an appropriate histological setting may be very indicative of Hodgkin's disease.