Homing Receptor α4β7 Integrin Expression Predicts Digestive Tract Involvement in Mantle Cell Lymphoma

Appropriate staging and evaluation of residual disease is critical to improving the treatment of patients with lymphoma. The specific expression of homing receptors may determine the preferential dissemination pattern of tumoral cells. We investigated the expression of the mucosal homing receptor α4β7 on tumoral cells from peripheral lymph node in patients with newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) to check whether it is associated with gastrointestinal involvement. Expression of the α4β1 integrin and the peripheral lymph node addressin CD62L were also examined. Thirteen MCL patients presenting with peripheral lymphadenopathy were studied. Expression of the mucosal homing receptor integrin α4β7 by peripheral lymph node lymphoma cells was found to be frequent (5/13) and associated with gastrointestinal involvement (5/7). In contrast, lymphoma cells from patients without gastrointestinal involvement did not express α4β7 (6/6) (P = 0.03). These data suggest that α4β7 integrin is expressed by a subset of MCLs and that its expression may predict digestive tract involvement in MCL, furnishing a basis for recognizing two distinct clinical and phenotypic forms, ie, “digestive homing (or digestive primitive)” versus “peripheral” MCL. Further studies on more patients will be needed to understand the impact of biological differences on the prognosis of these two clinical forms.