Aberrant expression of the dendritic cell marker TNFAIP2 by the malignant cells of Hodgkin lymphoma and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma distinguishes these tumor types from morphologically and phenotypically similar lymphomas.

Tumor necrosis factor-α-inducible protein-2 (TNFAIP2) is a protein upregulated in cultured cells treated with tumor necrosis factor α (TNF), but its expression in normal and neoplastic tissues remains largely unknown. Here, we use standard immunohistochemical techniques to demonstrate that TNFAIP2 is normally expressed by follicular dendritic cells, interdigitating dendritic cells, and macrophages but not by lymphoid cells in secondary lymphoid tissues. Consistent with this expression pattern, we found strong TNFAIP2 staining of tumor cells in 4 of 4 cases (100%) of follicular dendritic cell sarcoma and in 3 of 3 cases (100%) of histiocytic sarcoma.