title: Clinical and pathological features of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas lacking the surface expression of immunoglobulin light chains.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The flow cytometric analysis of surface immunoglobulin light chains (sIgL) is used as a simple method for evaluating monoclonal B-cell proliferation. However, the sIgL expression, κ or λ, is occasionally undetectable in cases with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (B-NHL). The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical and pathological characteristics of these B-NHL cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed 50 cases with previously untreated sIgL-negative B-NHL. All of these cases had been diagnosed at Tokai University Hospital between January 2001 and February 2011. Their medical charts were reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These cases had several clinical features: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (72%), a high serum lactate dehydrogenase level (66%), clinical stage III and IV (68%), and complex karyotypes (58%). Seven out of eight evaluated patients (87%) did not express cytoplasmic IgL, and the DNA rearrangement pattern of IgL showed diversity in 10 analyzed patients. The 5-year event-free survival of all the sIgL-negative B-NHL cases was significantly better with rituximab-containing chemotherapies in comparison to the regimens without it (57.9% vs. 17.9%, p=0.0207), although there was no statistical significance when the DLBCL cases were analyzed (56.6% vs. 22.2%, p=0.1530).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that sIgL-negative B-NHL cases predominantly developed DLBCL in advanced disease, but were heterogeneous at the molecular level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Kanagawa, Japan. hmatsu@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Hiromichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Yuzo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ohgiya
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Anar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Damdinsuren
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.forename: Miharu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yabe
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawada
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ogawa
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ando
authors.forename: Hayato
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyachi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains / Q000378:metabolism*; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007621:Karyotyping; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000069283:Rituximab
chemical_list: D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D007147:Immunoglobulin Light Chains; D000069283:Rituximab; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase