肠道原发性非霍奇金淋巴瘤临床病理特征分析

目的:研究肠道原发性非霍奇金淋巴瘤(NHL)的临床病理学特征.方法: 回顾分析23例原发性肠道淋巴瘤的临床表现、病理特征及免疫表型特点.结果: 23例患者中男17例,女6例,年龄21-72岁,平均46.5岁.临床表现以腹胀、下腹疼痛,腹部包块为主要症状.病变部位:回盲部9例、小肠8例、结肠5例、直肠1例.病理组织学黏膜相关淋巴组织(MALT)淋巴瘤11例、弥漫大B细胞淋巴瘤6例、肠病相关T细胞淋巴瘤3例、肠道滤泡性淋巴瘤2例、套细胞淋巴瘤1例.结论: 肠道淋巴瘤以MALT淋巴瘤最多见,临床上很难与肠癌鉴别,早期诊断主要依靠结肠镜活检,手术切除病检是淋巴瘤确诊及分型、临床规范化治疗与预后的依据.     

鼻腔淋巴瘤病理分析

目的:探讨鼻腔淋巴瘤的病理特点及诊断要点.方法:对17例鼻腔淋巴瘤的临床病理资料及病理切片进行回顾性分析.结果:男14例,女3例,中位年龄52岁.组织学类型包括NK/T细胞淋巴瘤7例(41%),外周T细胞淋巴瘤(非特殊型)8例(47%),弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤2例(12%).5例肿瘤旁鳞状上皮组织呈假上皮瘤样增生.结论:鼻腔淋巴瘤绝大部分为T细胞及NK/T细胞淋巴瘤,在病理诊断中应注意与小细胞癌等疾病鉴别.     

淋巴瘤样丘疹病C型一例报道及文献复习

背景与目的:原发皮肤CD30阳性淋巴增生性疾病谱中,关于淋巴瘤样丘疹病和原发皮肤间变性大细胞淋巴瘤的文献报道较常见,而其中的界限性病变--淋巴瘤样丘疹病c型的报道则较少见,故本文介绍与探讨1例淋巴瘤样丘疹病C型的临床表现、形态学特点以及免疫表型特征,旨在提高对此病的认识.方法:对华山医院诊断的1例皮肤淋巴瘤样丘疹病 C型患者的临床表现、组织病理学形态及免疫组织化学结果进行研究,并结合文献复习.结果:患者全身反复发作的散发性红疹伴瘙痒,可自行缓慢消退.患者全身皮肤可见多发性丘疹样病变,病变严重处出现脓疱并破溃结黑痂.组织学上,表皮溃疡并脱失,真皮层见中等偏大淋巴细胞浸润.细胞免疫表型CD30、CD3、TIA-1等呈阳性表达,ALK、CD20阴性.结论:皮肤淋巴瘤样丘疹病c型较少见,需与原发皮肤间变性大细胞淋巴瘤及系统性间变性大细胞淋巴瘤累及皮肤病变等鉴别,其诊断需结合临床表现、病理学形态及免疫表型等以明确其性质.     

骨原发性恶性淋巴瘤7例报告及文献复习

为探讨骨原发性恶性淋巴瘤的临床表现、诊治和预后,加深对该病的认识,本文回顾分析7例患者的临床、影像特征、病理学类型及疗效并文献复习。7例患者主要表现为局部疼痛,软组织肿胀。临床分期Ⅰ期2例,Ⅱ期4例,Ⅲ期1例。病理类型有弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤3例,伯基特淋巴瘤1例,外周T细胞淋巴瘤1例,间变大细胞性淋巴瘤1例,霍奇金淋巴瘤1例。主要治疗方法包括联合化疗、局部放疗、靶向治疗等。该病临床表现无特殊性,早期诊断困难,确诊依赖病理,采用放化疗为主的综合治疗及靶向治疗明显改善部分患者预后。     

眼眶淋巴瘤的鉴别诊断和治疗进展

淋巴瘤是成人最常见的眼眶恶性肿瘤,绝大多数起源于B细胞,其中黏膜相关性淋巴组织结外边缘区B细胞淋巴瘤(MALT)是最常见的亚型,其次是弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤(DLBL)、滤泡性淋巴瘤(FL)和套细胞淋巴瘤(MCL)。疾病的组织病理学亚型和临床分期是患者预后的最佳指标。眼眶淋巴瘤缺少影像学特征,需结合临床表现、组织学、分子生物学检查结果与其他眼眶病变进行鉴别。治疗方法包括手术、放射治疗、化学治疗、免疫治疗、靶向治疗等。治疗眼眶淋巴瘤时必须考虑亚型分类及TNM分期。该文对近年来眼眶淋巴瘤的诊疗进展进行总结,为临床工作提供参考。     

原发性皮肤间变性大细胞淋巴瘤复发1例及文献复习

目的:探讨原发性皮肤间变性大细胞淋巴瘤(C-ALCL)的临床及组织病理学特征.方法:通过对1 例复发C-ALCL患者的皮损行组织病理学及免疫组化检查,并进行文献复习,观察C-ALCL的组织学特征及免疫表型的特点.结果:该例为复发病例,两次均表现为皮肤结节;镜下肿瘤细胞异型性明显,体积较大;大细胞均表达CD30,部分大细胞表达EMA,不表达ALK-1;用CHOP方案治疗,患者预后较好.结论:C-ALCL是一种少见的原发于皮肤的淋巴瘤,肿瘤细胞表达CD30,EMA可阳性,一般不表达ALK-1,预后较好.     

中枢神经系统血管内大B细胞淋巴瘤2例

0 引言2008年版WH0造血及琳巴组织肿瘤分类中,血管内大B细胞淋巴瘤(Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma,IVLBCL)归属于弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤(Diffuse large B cell lymphoma,DLBCL)的独立亚型[1].该疾病非常罕见,迄今全世界近300例报道,国内报道不足10例[2-6].累及包括皮肤及中枢神经系统在内的全身各个器官,由于病变部位不一,临床表现多样,导致诊断困难或诊断延误.我们报告2例原发性中枢神经系统的IVLBCL临床病例并复习文献.     

淋巴瘤中RAS相关区域家族5A基因启动子区甲基化状态及其mRNA表达与患者临床表现的关系

目的:探讨RAS相关区域家族5A(Ras-association domain family 5A,RASSF5A)基因在淋巴瘤患者及正常人外周血中DNA甲基化和mRNA表达状态,并研究其与患者临床表现的关系.方法:应用甲基化特异性PCR(methylation-specific PCR,MSP)及RT-PCR方法检测河北医科大学第四附属医院2013年10月至2015年3月收治的弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤患者74例、T细胞淋巴瘤患者42例及健康志愿者42人的外周血中RASSF5A基因甲基化及mRNA表达状态.分析其与临床表现之间的关系.结果:RASSF5A在弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤和T细胞淋巴瘤中的甲基化率分别为64.9％ (48/74)和73.8％ (31/42),明显高于正常人的7.1％ (3/42) (P ＜0.05);而其mRNA表达量分别为0.54 ±0.17和0.52 ±0.18,均低于正常人的0.86±0.10(P ＜0.05).弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤中RASSF5A基因启动子甲基化阳性的mRNA相对表达量(0.51 ±0.18)低于甲基化阴性的mRNA表达量(0.60 ±0.17) (P ＜0.05).T细胞淋巴瘤中RASSF5A基因启动子甲基化阳性的mRNA相对表达量(0.50±0.15)低于甲基化阴性的mRNA表达量(0.63±0.12) (P ＜0.05).RASSF5A基因在弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤中的甲基化率与患者的LDH、IPI评分及Ki67相关(P＜0.05);RASSF5A基因在T细胞淋巴瘤中的甲基化率与患者的临床分期、结外累及及Ki-67相关(P＜0.05).RASSF5A基因在弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤中mRNA的表达量与患者的IPI评分及结外累及相关(P＜0.05);RASSF5A基因在T细胞淋巴瘤中mRNA的表达量与患者的临床分期和结外累及相关(P＜0.05).结论:RASSF5A基因启动子甲基化可能是弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤和T细胞淋巴瘤发生的机制之一,mRNA表达沉默可能是表观遗传学机制之一.RASSF5A基因在弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤和T细胞淋巴瘤中主要可能起抑癌基因的作用,与淋巴瘤的侵袭性、恶性进程及预后有关.     

原发性子宫体恶性淋巴瘤临床病理分析

目的 分析原发性子宫体恶性淋巴瘤临床病理特点。方法对2例原发性子宫体恶性淋巴瘤进行常规病理检查和免疫组化观察并结合文献进行分析。结果 子宫体原发性恶性淋巴瘤临床表现无特殊性，结合文献镜下见子宫黏膜和(或)肌层内淋巴样细胞弥漫增生，可出现滤泡结构，免疫组化显示B细胞标记。子宫颈卵巢输卵管可见肿瘤累及。结论 原发性子宫体恶性淋巴瘤以弥漫大B细胞型多见，侵袭性较高。     

鼻腔淋巴瘤病理分析

目的：探讨鼻腔淋巴瘤的病理特点及诊断要点。方法：对17例鼻腔淋巴瘤的临床病理资料及病理切片进行回顾性分析。结果：男14例，女3例，中位年龄52岁。组织学类型包括NK／T细胞淋巴瘤7例(41％)，外周T细胞淋巴瘤(非特殊型)8例(47％)，弥漫性大B细胞淋巴瘤2例(12％)。5例肿瘤旁鳞状上皮组织呈假上皮瘤样增生。结论：鼻腔淋巴瘤绝大部分为T细胞及NK／T细胞淋巴瘤，在病理诊断中应注意与小细胞癌等疾病鉴别。     

Distribution and prognosis of WHO lymphoma subtypes in Taiwan reveals a low incidence of germinal-center derived tumors

To assess the distribution of lymphomas in Taiwan according to the WHO (World Health Organization) classification, 175 recently diagnosed cases of malignant lymphomas were studied and the clinicopathologic data were analyzed. B-cell lymphomas accounted for 57.1% of cases, T-cell lymphomas 38.9%, and Hodgkin's lymphoma 4%. Extranodal lymphomas predominated (55.4%). The most common subtype of B-cell lymphoma was diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (33.1%). All tumor types believed to be derived from germinal center (GC) B-cells including follicular lymphoma (4.6%), Burkitt lymphoma (1.7%), Hodgkin lymphoma (4.0%), and GC-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (as defined by combined expression of bcl-6 and CD10) were rather uncommon as compared to frequencies seen in series from Western countries. The common T-cell lymphomas included nasal and extranasal NK/T cell lymphoma (7.4%), mycosis fungoides (7.4%), and unspecified peripheral T-cell lymphoma (6.9%). Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma was very uncommon and accounts for only 0.6%. The proportional increase in T-cell lymphomas that were unrelated to type I human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV-1) may be linked to differential Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) oncogenesis. The survival data revealed that mantle cell lymphoma, NK/T-cell lymphoma, unspecified peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma had an aggressive course. Our results confirm the utility of the WHO classification scheme for prognostic stratification and further highlight the distinctive distribution pattern of malignant lymphoma in Taiwan including the higher relative incidence of T cell lymphomas and the rarity of germinal center-derived B-cell tumors.     

Ki-1-positive large cell lymphomas, a heterogenous group of neoplasms. Morphologic, immunophenotypic, genotypic, and clinical features of 24 cases.

Clinical and pathologic features of 24 patients with large cell lymphomas that expressed the activation antigen Ki-1 are described. Phenotypic and/or genotypic studies characterized these neoplasms as T-cell (16 cases), B-cell (six cases), or null cell (two cases) type. Males predominantly were affected. Age of patients ranged from 19 to 73 years, with a bimodal distribution, with peaks in the third and seventh decades. Lymphadenopathy was present in nearly all patients. Extranodal involvement, including skin, soft tissue, bone, central nervous system, lung, or small intestine was observed in a total of 54% of the patients, either at presentation or during the course of disease. "Prototypic" features of large cell anaplastic lymphomas were observed for eight T-cell lymphomas, with morphologic heterogeneity noted for the remainder. Eight patients, all with T-cell neoplasms (only one with prototypic morphology), have died of lymphoma (median survival, 5 months). An antecedent history of a lymphoproliferative disorder (mycosis fungoides, B-cell lymphoma, immunoblastic lymphadenopathy) was apparent in seven patients. An 8-year history of Crohn's disease occurred in one patient with a T-cell lymphoma involving small intestine. Phenotypically, loss of one or more markers was typically noted for T-cell neoplasms. Leukocyte common antigen was detected in all cases, although partial loss of immunoreactivity was noticed in some cases. Nearly all cases evaluated for Ia antigen or alpha-1-antichymotrysin were reactive. Eleven of 16 T-cell, two of six B-cell, and two null cell lymphomas expressed epithelial membrane antigen. Ki-1-positive large cell lymphomas are characterized by clinical, morphologic, and immunophenotypic heterogeneity.     

Cytotoxic/natural killer cell cutaneous lymphomas. Report of EORTC Cutaneous Lymphoma Task Force Workshop

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous lymphomas expressing a cytotoxic or natural killer (NK) cell phenotype represent a group of lymphoproliferative disorders for which there is currently much confusion and little consensus regarding the best nomenclature and classification. METHODS: This study analyzes 48 cases of primary cutaneous lymphoma expressing cytotoxic proteins and/or the NK cell marker, CD56. These cases were collected for a workshop of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Cutaneous Lymphoma Task Force, to better clarify the clinical, morphologic, and phenotypic features of these uncommon tumors. RESULTS: Several categories with different clinical and pathologic features were delineated: 1) aggressive, CD8+, epidermotropic, cytotoxic T-cell lymphoma; 2) mycosis fungoides, cytotoxic immunophenotype variant; 3) subcutaneous panniculitis-like T-cell lymphoma; 4) NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type; 5) CD4+, NK cell lymphoma; 6) blastoid NK cell lymphoma; (7) intravascular NK-like lymphoma; and 8) cytotoxic, peripheral T-cell lymphoma. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that primary cutaneous cytotoxic/NK cell lymphomas include distinct groups of diseases, clinically, histologically, and biologically. Because the finding of a cytotoxic phenotype often has prognostic significance, the routine use of cytotoxic markers in the diagnosis and classification of cutaneous lymphomas should be expanded.     

Splenic involvement by aggressive malignant lymphomas of B-cell and T-cell types. A morphologic and immunophenotypic study.

To determine whether there are any consistent morphologic differences between B-cell and T-cell aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of the spleen, the authors analyzed 16 spleens involved by mixed cell (1 case) or large cell (15 cases) lymphomas. Immunologic data were derived from cell suspensions or frozen tissue in each case. Five cases had a T-cell phenotype, and 11 were B-cell. Morphologic features favoring a T-cell phenotype included epithelioid histiocytic reactions, confinement of the lymphomas to the splenic T-zones (periarteriolar lymphoid sheath and marginal zone), and clear cell or polymorphous cytologic features. Features favoring a B-cell phenotype included multiple discrete nodules in the white pulp, large coalescent tumor nodules in association with small lymphocytic lymphoma, and large non-cleaved or immunoblastic plasmacytoid cytologic characteristics. Four cases were unusual because most neoplastic large cells were distributed diffusely or formed only small aggregates in the red pulp without definite tumor masses or nodules involving the white pulp. Because of this distribution and the frequently encountered erythrophagocytosis by benign-appearing histiocytes, these cases resembled malignant histiocytosis. A T-cell phenotype was predicted for all four cases; however, only one case, a lymphoma with polymorphous cytologic characteristics, was of T-cell lineage. The other three cases were of B-cell lineage. The authors' results indicate that in most instances the B-cell or T-cell nature of aggressive splenic lymphomas is predictable from the distributional and cytologic features. As in lymph nodes, there are cases for which the morphologic characteristics of B-cell and T-cell lymphomas are indistinguishable.     

Immunologic, Clinicopathologic and Prognostic Features of Lymphoma of the Gastrointestinal Tract

The lymphoma cells of 32 patients with histopathologically provenmalignant lymphomas with gastrointestinal (G-I) tract involvementwere examined for their surface marker characteristics. Twelvecases were diagnosed as primary lymphoma of the G-I tract and20 cases as secondary lymphoma of the G-I tract according toclinical and autopsy findings. Only one of the primary G-I tractlymphomas was identified as T-cell type, seven as B-cell typeand four as surface immunoglobulin (S-Ig)-negative non-T type(defective B-cell type). Ten of the 11 cases of non-T cell typewere histopathologically diagnosed as diffuse large lymphoidlymphoma, and one as diffuse medium-sized or poorly differentiatedlymphocytic lymphoma. This suggests that most primary G-I tractlymphoma would be large lymphoid lymphoma, even if it couldbe found at an early stage. The histopathological diagnosisof one case of T-cell type was controversial lymphocyte depletionof Hodgkin's disease or pleomorphic lymphoma is most probable. Three of the 20 secondary G-I tract lymphomas were identifiedas T-cell type, eight as B-cell type, five as defective B-celltype and four as S-Ig-undetermined non-T cell type. In contrastwith the primary G-I tract lymphomas, all histologic types wereincluded in the secondary G-I tract lymphomas. The period fromonset to G-I tract involvement ranged from four to 88 mo withan average of 32.6 mo. The tumor mass in the G-I tract in B-celllymphoma was usually large enough to be able to be detectedclinically, while a large proportion of the G-I tract lesionsin defective B-cell lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma were so smallthat they were detected only at autopsy. These results suggestthat B-cell lymphoma has a higher incidence of G-I tract involvementand a more pronounced capacity to proliferate in the G-I tractthan defective B-cell lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma. The prognosis for the patients with G-I tract lymphoma variedaccording to the stage at the time of the first examination.All three patients with stage I primary lymphoma of the G-Itract are surviving, while only three of nine patients withstage II or higher are still alive. In the case of secondaryG-I tract lymphoma, although the median survival time of stageI patients was fairly long (66 mo). more than 80% of the patientsdied of the disease. Half of the patients with stage I diseasedied within 6 mo and about 40% of the patients died within 1mo after G-I tract involvement. This indicates that secondaryG-I tract involvement of lynaphoma is a poorer risk factor forprognosis than is primary G-I tract lymphoma.     

Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas: an ultrastructural study correlating morphology with immunologic cell type.

Ultrastructural studies were performed on 40 B-cell and 14 T-cell lymphomas of non-Hodgkin's type (NHL). Most B-cell lymphomas were comprised of neoplastic cells with morphologic features compatible with a follicular center cell origin. Dendritic reticulum cells and their desmosome-associated processes, characteristic of germinal centers, were observed in all 11 cases of nodular poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma and in one of two cases of nodular "histiocytic" lymphoma, but were not identified in the lymphomas with a diffuse growth pattern. Desmosomes were observed between dendritic reticulum cells and were not found between lymphoid cells. Large neoplastic cells comprising lymphomas of "histiocytic," mixed lymphocytic "histiocytic," and "undifferentiated" types were characterized ultrastructurally and immunologically as lymphoid cells. Malignant lymphomas of well and moderately well differentiated lymphocytic types (7 cases) revealed B-cell markers, and represented a distinct homogenous group of neoplasms, with electron microscopic features most closely resembling follicular cuff lymphocytes. T-cell malignancies included lymphoblastic lymphomas (3 cases), large cell ("histiocytic") lymphomas (4 cases), lymphoepithelioid cell ("Lennert's") lymphomas (2 cases), mycosis fungoides (3 cases) and diffuse poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphomas (2 cases). A consistent finding in the T-cell proliferations was the presence of small and/or large lymphoid cells with extremely irregular and/or convoluted nuclei, which occurred in varying proportions and with variable degrees of nuclear complexity. The nuclear irregularity evident in the neoplastic T cells was distinguishable from that observed for lymphoid cells of B-cell lymphomas. In comparing the cytoplasmic features of the T- and B-cell neoplasms ultrastructurally, the only distinguishing feature was the presence of well developed granular endoplasmic reticulum with dilated cisternae, i.e., plasmacytoid features, predictive of a B cell origin.     

Regulation of TCL1 expression in B- and T-cell lymphomas and reactive lymphoid tissues

Chromosomal rearrangements observed in T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia involve the translocation of one T-cell receptor gene to either chromosome 14q32 or Xq28, deregulating the expression of cellular protooncogenes of unknown function, such as TCL1 or its homologue, MTCP1. In the human hematopoietic system, TCL1 expression is predominantly observed in developing B lymphocytes, whereas its overexpression in T cells causes mature T-cell proliferation in transgenic mice. In this study, using a newly generated monoclonal antibody against recombinant TCL1 protein, we extended our analysis mainly by immunohistochemistry and also by fluorescence-activated cell sorting and Western blot to a large tumor lymphoma data bank including 194 cases of lymphoproliferative disorders of B- and T-cell origin as well as reactive lymphoid tissues. The results obtained show that in reactive lymphoid tissues, TCL1 is strongly expressed by a subset of mantle zone B lymphocytes and is expressed to a lesser extent by follicle center cells and by scattered interfollicular small lymphocytes. In B-cell neoplasia, TCL1 was expressed in the majority of the cases, including lymphoblastic lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (60%), and primary cutaneous B cell lymphoma (55%). TCL1 expression was observed in both the cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments, as confirmed by Western blot analysis. Conversely, TCL1 was not expressed in Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells, multiple myelomas, marginal zone B-cell lymphomas, CD30+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma, lymphoblastic T-cell lymphoma, peripheral T-cell lymphoma, and mycosis fungoides. These data indicate that TCL1 is expressed in more differentiated B cells, under both reactive and neoplastic conditions, from antigen committed B cells and in germinal center B cells and is down-regulated in the latest stage of B-cell differentiation.     

Primary cutaneous B-cell lymphoma: classification and treatment

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There has been confusion and debate regarding the definition, terminology, and optimal treatment of the different types of primary cutaneous B-cell lymphomas. This review presents the new World Health Organization-European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer classification for cutaneous lymphomas; describes clinicopathologic, immunophenotypic, and genetic features of the different types of cutaneous B-cell lymphomas in this classification; and discusses current views on treatment of these lymphomas. RECENT FINDINGS: The three main types of cutaneous B-cell lymphomas in this new classification are primary cutaneous marginal zone B-cell lymphoma, primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma, and primary cutaneous large B-cell lymphoma (leg type). Primary cutaneous marginal zone B-cell and primary cutaneous follicle center lymphoma are indolent types with an excellent prognosis that should be treated primarily with nonaggressive therapies. Primary cutaneous large B-cell lymphoma (leg type) is an aggressive lymphoma that should be treated primarily with aggressive chemotherapy. SUMMARY: The World Health Organization-European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer classification will contribute to uniform diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients with cutaneous B-cell lymphoma and will prevent patients with indolent types of the disease from being treated inappropriately with systemic chemotherapy.     

T-lymphoblastic and peripheral T-cell lymphomas in the northern part of The Netherlands. An immunologic study of 29 cases

The morphologic type, immunophenotypes, and clinical presentation of 12 cases of T-lymphoblastic lymphoma and 17 cases of peripheral T-cell lymphoma were studied. The lymphoblastic cases were subclassified according to intrathymic stages of T-cell differentiation. Two cases had an early intrathymic immunophenotype (CD4-negative, CD8-negative, CD1-negative), seven cases had an intermediate intrathymic immunophenotype (CD1-positive, CD4-positive, CD8-positive), and two cases had a late intrathymic immunophenotype (CD1-positive, CD8-positive, CD4-negative); one case expressed T-cell and B-cell markers. The peripheral T-cell lymphomas were morphologically subclassified according to the updated Kiel classification. T-cell lymphomas of low-grade malignancy--chronic lymphocytic lymphoma, T-zone lymphoma, and pleomorphic small cell lymphoma--in general had a complete immunophenotype matching the immunophenotypes of normal peripheral T-cells. In addition these cases were CD38-positive and HLA class II-positive. The T-cell lymphomas of high-grade intermediate and large cell, immunoblastic and large cell anaplastic lymphoma--were characterized by loss of T-cell markers. For their establishment as T-cell lymphoma a panel of monoclonal antibodies is needed.