Sclerosis in non-Hodgkin's lymphomata

A total of 242 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma arising primarily in lymph nodes are reported. Lymph nodes have been classified histologically and the incidence of sclerosis in each group assessed. Two types of fibrosis were found, one composed of fibrous bands from 10 mum to several hundred mum thick within the node and invaded perinodal tissue. The other type was a fine compartmentalizing fibrosis sometimes simulating the pattern of metastatic carcinoma in part of a node, the rest of the node being typical of malignant lymphoma. Both types of fibrosis were present in some nodes. Fibrous bands were present in all histological types, with the exception of the diffuse lymphocytic well differentiated group. Fine compartmentalizing fibrosis was seen only in association with areas of undifferentiated large celled lymphoma. The presence of sclerosis is shown to correlate with a better prognosis when compared with non-sclerosing tymours of similar histological type. That sclerosing lymphomata are more slowly progressive is borne out by the fact that two-thirds of the patients with sclerotic nodes presented with localized disease compared with less than half of the patients whose nodes showed no sclerosis.