The last revised "Euro-American classification" of lymphoid leukemias and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: the same inaccuracies and inconsistencies in a chaotic complexity.
After a review of the recent physiologic, cellular genetic and molecular genetic acquisitions, a critical comment of the proposed classification is presented concerning especially a) the inclusion in the so-called "precursor B-lymphoblastic leukemias", which are pre-B neoplasias, of Burkitt's leukemic lymphoma, the cells of which are sIg+, hence B and not pre B; b) the inclusion in the chronic B lymphocytic leukemia of the so-called Galton's "prolymphocytic" leukemia, the cells of which are also sIg+, thus B and not pro B. In fact, the transformed blastoid medium size cells of this leukemia present the markers of the plasmablasts, which are the precursors of the long-lived plasma cells and migrate from the lymphoid tissue T-zone to bone marrow, where they secrete IgD, or G, or E, or to the mucosae, where they secrete IgA. Thus the so called "B-prolymphocytic leukemia" is the leukemic conversion of the (blastoid medium size cell) plasmablast lymphoma. There is in the new classification, a "large cell lymphoma" entity, which makes redundance with the "large cell follicle centre lymphoma". This large cell lymphoma representes a heterogen complex, as it includes the B-immunoblastic lymphoma which is not presented as an entity. As far as T lymphomas are concerned, it is not indicated that the CD8 cells may be CD57 + or - , and CD28 + or -. It could be mentioned that the cytotoxic T-cells are CD8+ C57- CD28+, while the suppressor T-cells are CD8+ CD57+ CD28-.
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Institut de Cancérologie et d'Immunologie & Hôpital Suisse de Paris, Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.
D006801:Humans; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology