Immunoprofile of Hodgkin's lymphoma in India.
OBJECTIVE
The immunoprofile of the Reed Sternberg cell with respect to immunoreactivity for CD20 and lack of CD15 has been described as a poor prognostic factor. Large scale studies analyzing the immunoprofile of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) from India are lacking. The aim of this study was to obtain baseline information on relative frequencies and immunoprofiles of the two major types of HL and comparing reports from developed and developing countries.


METHODS
451 cases of HL were classified as per the WHO into classical (n= 397) HL (cHL) and nodular lymphocyte predominant HL (NLPHL) (n=54). Cases of cHL were divided into 5 immunophenotypic groups; Group A (CD15+,CD30+,CD20-), Group B (CD15-,CD30+,CD20-), Group C (CD15+,CD30+,CD20+), Group D (CD15-,CD30+,CD20+)and Group E (CD15-,CD30-,CD20+). In cases of NLPHL, the immunophenotype of lymphocytes in the background, whether T(CD3) or B(CD20) rich was observed.


RESULTS
Most cases of cHL belonged to Group A (44.58%) followed by Group B (40.05%), C(5.54%), D(9.57%) and E(0.25%). Half, (50.89%) the cases of cHL were immunonegative for CD15, whereas CD20 was expressed by 15.61% of the cases. Three (5.55%) cases of NLPHL showed a CD3 (T) cell rich background. Significant differences were also observed with respect to the age distribution of cHL as compared to the west.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study demonstrates that India has a high number of CD15 negative and a relatively higher number of CD20 positive cHL cases as compared to the western population. Favorable treatment response and good cure rates that one sees in western cHL may not apply to India.
Patkar
N
N
Department of Histopathology, Asian Institute of Oncology, SL Raheja Hospital, Mumbai, India. nvpatkar@gmail.com
Mehta
J
J
Kulkarni
B
B
Pande
R
R
Advani
S
S
Borges
A
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018951:Antigens, CD20 / Q000032:analysis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D017730:Ki-1 Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D016256:Lewis X Antigen / Q000032:analysis; D008875:Middle Aged
D018951:Antigens, CD20; D017730:Ki-1 Antigen; D016256:Lewis X Antigen