title: Intratumoral plasmacytoid dendritic cells associate with increased survival in patients with follicular lymphoma.
abstract: Gene array studies on follicular lymphoma (FL) have associated non-malignant tumor-infiltrating immune cells with patient survival. We examined the role of such cells detectable by immunohistochemistry in a tissue microarray, focusing on plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). These cells physiologically produce interferon-α, which has been used in the therapy of FL. High numbers of pDCs are associated with increased survival, and so are high numbers of CD3+ T cells. The regular distribution of pDCs within T cell areas is reflected by a weak but significant correlation between pDCs and T cells. However, in multivariate Cox models, CD123 proved to be an independent prognostic factor. These findings support the hypothesis of an association of pDCs with better prognosis by producing interferon. Furthermore, due to a linear relationship between pDCs and survival shown by means of Kaplan-Meier plots, immunohistochemical staining of CD123 could serve as a prognostic tool for patients with FL.
authors: Pathology and Oncology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. r.butsch@bluewin.ch
authors: Raphael
authors: R
authors: Butsch
authors: Stephan
authors: S
authors: Lukas Waelti
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Schaerer
authors: Julia
authors: J
authors: Braun
authors: Dimitri
authors: D
authors: Korol
authors: Nicole
authors: N
authors: Probst-Hensch
authors: Holger
authors: H
authors: Moch
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Kurrer