Comparison of reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry for detection of monoclonality in lymphomas.

In healthy humans, 60-70% of the B lymphocytes produce kappa light chains, while the remaining cells produce lambda light chains. Malignant transformation and clonal expansion of B lymphocytes lead to an altered kappa : lambda expression ratio, which is an important diagnostic criteria of lymphomas. Here, we compared three methods for clonality determination of suspected B cell lymphomas.

Increased number of B-cells in the red pulp of the spleen in ITP.

Platelets are targeted by autoantibodies and destroyed in the reticuloendothelial system in the spleen, liver and bone marrow in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Other mechanisms such as destruction by cytotoxic T-cells and defective production of platelets in the bone marrow also exist. Splenectomy normalizes the platelet count in 70% of ITP patients, however, precious little is known about the spleen in this disease.

The impact of peripheral blood values and bone marrow findings on prognosis for patients with essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera.

The Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-) chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms include the three well-known clinical entities polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), and primary myelofibrosis (PMF). Over time, patients with ET and PV may develop myelofibrosis (MF), and all three entities carry a risk of transformation into acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In a population-based survey during 1983-1999, we studied a total of 358 patients who were diagnosed with ET and PV in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Low rather than high Ki-67 protein expression is an adverse prognostic factor in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

The prognostic role of overexpression of Ki-67 protein in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is still unclear. Furthermore, immunohistochemical studies have suggested a correlation between markers of proliferation, B-cell differentiation and apoptosis, but the prognostic relevance of these findings has not been clarified. To investigate the prognostic impact of Ki-67, in the context of this correlation, a retrospective immunohistochemical study was performed on 199 DLBCL patients treated with curative intent.

Expression of CD68+ tumor-associated macrophages in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and its relation to prognosis.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) have been ascribed both pro- and anti-tumor properties, but the majority of clinical cancer studies have shown that the presence of a high number of TAM is related to poor prognosis, suggesting that TAM predominantly exert pro-tumoral activity. The prognostic role of TAM in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), however, is so far unknown. Therefore, TAM were immunohistochemically stained with a CD68 antibody in a retrospective, population-based study including 176 DLBCL patients treated with curative intent.