Paraffin section immunohistochemistry. I. Non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma

Reagents that recognize antigens on lymphoid cells in fixed and wax-embedded sections have been applied to a series of cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. The panel consisted of MB1, 4KB5 (CD45r), LN1, L26 and MB2 which recognize antigens expressed predominantly on B-lymphocytes; UCHL1 and MT1 which recognize antigens expressed on T-lymphocytes and myeloid cells; antibodies recognizing the non-lineage antigens LeuM1 (CD15), BerH2 (CD30), anti-EMA; anti-lysozyme and MAC 387 which detect antigens present on some macrophages; and finally TAL1B5 (class II MHC), CAM 5.2 (low molecular weight cytokeratin) and PD7/26 + 2B11(CD45). Two hundred and four cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have been studied, of which 158 had been fully characterized on frozen sections. The series was biased towards high-grade (n = 108) and T-cell (n = 44) tumours and these were largely prospectively accrued. It was found that discrimination between B-cell and T-cell lymphomas can be reliably achieved using these reagents and that a small panel (CD45, L26, MB2, MT1, UCHL1) is adequate for this purpose. Using the full range of reagents it is not possible to subdivide cases into groups that correspond with morphological subtypes of lymphoma. Although paraffin section immunohistochemistry is of value, the diagnosis of lymphoproliferative disorders must still be based upon the assessment of well fixed, carefully prepared tissue sections using conventional tinctorial methods.