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Concanavalin A‐binding histiocytes in Hodgkin's disease: A predictor of early relapse
Author(s) -
Ree H. J.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19860701)58:1<87::aid-cncr2820580116>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - histiocyte , pathology , staining , medicine , concanavalin a , biopsy , reed–sternberg cell , lymphoma , biology , biochemistry , hodgkin lymphoma , in vitro
Staining with Concanavalin agglutinin (Con A) reveals a far greater number of macrophage‐histiocytes (M‐H) in paraffin sections than any other staining method. With Con A staining, the shapes of stromal M‐H are clearly visualized, thus enabling a study of their morphologic variations. Con A staining patterns were also unchanged in specimens left at room temperature for 24 to 28 hours before fixation. The appearance of Con A‐binding histiocytes was studied in tumors, recurrent as well as original, of 18 patients with biopsy‐proven early relapse (within 26 months of diagnosis), and compared with those of 26 patients who were in complete remission (lasting 48 months at the minimum). The early‐relapse patients were diagnosed from 1977 through 1984, and all received intensive combination chemotherapy. The relapse‐free patients were treated in various manners, and included six patients diagnosed in the 1960s who were treated with radiation alone. Three forms of Con A‐binding histiocytes were easily recognized: medium‐sized cells similar to those seen in reactive follicles, characterized by uniform nuclei and distinct, abundant cytoplasm (Type A); cells of varying size and shape with altered cytoplasm, rarefied and ragged with indistinct cell borders, or globular (Type B); and large cells, stellate or spindling (Type C). Large numbers of Type A cells were present in all tumors of the relapse‐free patients but were virtually absent in the original and recurrent tumors of the early‐relapse group. Conversely, Type B cells were rare in the relapse‐free group, but were the most common type in the patients with early relapse. Type C cells were not seen in the former group, but were present in the latter. These observations suggest that the morphologic variations of Con A‐binding histiocytes in Hodgkin's disease are associated with tumor behavior. Con A staining, which can best depict stromal histiocytes in paraffin sections, may be used to identify patients at a high risk of early relapse. Cancer 58:87–95, 1986.