CD 43 expression is associated with inferior survival in the non‐germinal centre B ‐cell subgroup of diffuse large B ‐cell lymphoma

Summary We evaluated the prognostic significance of CD 43 ( SPN ), a membrane glycoprotein, in 140 patients with diffuse large B ‐cell lymphoma ( DLBCL ) by tissue microarray ( TMA ) immunostaining, and gene expression profiling ( GEP ) in 43 patients. CD 43 protein was expressed in 19% of the cases and was strongly related to the non‐germinal centre B ‐cell (non‐ GCB ) subgroup by both TMA and GEP . Patients with CD 43(+) DLBCL had an inferior 3‐year overall survival ( OS ) compared to those with CD 43(‐) DLBCL (50% vs. 76%, P  =   0·01). Within the non‐ GCB subgroup, patients with CD 43(+) DLBCL had a particularly poor 3‐year OS (32% vs. 71%, P  <   0·001). Gene set enrichment analysis within the activated B ‐cell subgroup revealed significant enrichment in the stromal‐1 signature in CD 43(−) cases. We conclude that CD 43 is an adverse prognostic marker in DLBCL , and is preferentially expressed in the non‐ GCB subgroup. The dismal outcome of CD 43(+) cases in the non‐ GCB subgroup may be explained, at least in part, by a less favourable microenvironment.