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Frequent occurrence of B‐cell lymphomas in angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma and proliferation of Epstein–Barr virus‐infected cells in early cases
Author(s) -
Willenbrock Klaus,
Bräuninger Andreas,
Hansmann MartinLeo
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2007.06725.x
Subject(s) - somatic hypermutation , lymphoma , epstein–barr virus , diffuse large b cell lymphoma , angioimmunoblastic t cell lymphoma , virus , cancer research , lymph node , b cell , biology , virology , immunology , t cell , antibody , immune system
Summary Secondary lymphomas occurring in the setting of angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma (AILT) are considered to be rare. Their occurrence has been attributed to Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)‐associated lymphoproliferations. A previous study detected a dysregulated hypermutation process in B‐cells of AILT. The present study aimed at estimating the frequency of B‐cell lymphomas in AILT. By studying the expression of EBV and activation‐induced cytidine deaminase (AID) as an indicator of hypermutating cells, we assessed whether B‐cell lymphoproliferations in AILT were strictly associated with EBV and whether hypermutation might contribute to lymphomagenesis. Among 161 cases of AILT, diagnosed between 1996 and 2005 at the lymph node registry, Frankfurt, Germany, 19 cases were detected that also had B‐cell non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and two cases had classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). EBV was detected in tumour cells of 7/18 NHL and both HL, suggesting that factors other than EBV contribute to lymphomagenesis. AID was expressed in AILT in large cells disseminated in the tissue, implying that the process of somatic hypermutation is ongoing in AILT, although the GC architecture is disrupted. This might be relevant in the development of secondary lymphomas.