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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Multiplexed Fluorescent Immunohistochemical Staining, Imaging, and Analysis in Histological Samples of Lymphoma
Published on: January 9, 2019
Metabolic fingerprinting of fresh lymphoma samples used to discriminate between follicular and diffuse large B-cell
Ignasi Barba1, Carolina Sanz, Angels Barbera
1Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, Heart Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain.
Objective:
To investigate if proton nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR) spectroscopy-based metabolic profiling was able to differentiate follicular lymphoma (FL) from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and to study which metabolites were responsible for the differences.
Materials And Methods:
High-resolution (1)H NMR spectra was obtained from fresh samples of lymph node biopsies obtained consecutively at one center (14 FL and 17 DLBCL). Spectra were processed using pattern-recognition methods.
Results:
Discriminant models were able to differentiate between the two tumor types with a 86% sensitivity and a 76% specificity; the metabolites that most contributed to the discrimination were a relative increase of alanine in the case of DLBCL and a relative increase of taurine in FL. Metabolic models had a significant but weak correlation with Ki67 expression (r(2)=0.42; p=0.002)
Conclusions:
We have proved that it is possible to differentiate between FL and DLBCL based on their NMR metabolic profiles. This approach may potentially be applicable as a noninvasive tool for diagnostic and treatment follow-up in the clinical setting using conventional magnetic resonance systems.

