Abstract

Non-Hodgkin's malignant lymphoma is a relatively frequent lymphoreticular malignancy, and has been reported to constitute up to 5.2% of all malignant tumors in Korean patients. Various morphologic classifications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma have been proposed, and among them, the Rappaport's classification has been most widely accepted. In 1982, a National Cancer Institute sponsored study on classification led to the creation of the Working Formulation in an attempt to resolve the controversy anddebate regarding the various classifications of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia and polymorphic reticulosis are lymphoreticular proliferative disorders which have reported to transform to malignant lymphoma. The purpose of the present study is to reclassify non-Hodgkin's lymphomas according to the Working Formulation and to investigate the histopathological and immunocytochemical characteristics of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia and polymorphic reticulosis. This study reviewed 300 cases of nodal and extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 26 cases of polymorphic reticulosis, and 7 cases of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia examined in the Departments of Pathology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Youngdong Severance Hospital and Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine from January 1977 to December 1986. In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, each case was classified according to the Working Formulation and the Rappaport classification. All angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia and polymorphic reticulosis cases were subjected to histopathological analysis and a review of the clinical records. Immunocytochemical studies were done using kappa and lambda chains for B-cell markers and alpha-1-antichymotrypsin for histiocytic marker. The results obtained were as follows; 1) Among 300 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the primarily involved tumor sites were the lymph nodes (141 cases), the gastrointestinal tract (67 cases), and the tonsils (32 cases) in descending order of frequency. 2) Using the Working Formulation, intermediategrade lymphomas occurred in 66.4% of the patients, and the most common subtype was "diffuse, large cell" (32.7%). By the Rappaport classification, 3 patients had nodular lymphomas, and "diffuse, histiocytic" was the most common subtype. 3) Infarction was present in 32 cases in which the "diffuse, lagre cell" type was most frequently associated. 4) In immunoperoxidase stains of 7 cases of angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy with dysproteinemia, proliferating immunoblasts revealed a polyclonal positivity for kappa and lambda chains. Atypical reticulocytes present in 26 cases of polymorphic reticulosis revealed a negativity for kappa, lambda and alpha-1-antichymotrypsin.

• Keywords: Non-Hodgkin's Lymphomas;Malignant Reticulosis;AILD;