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Updated: May 24, 2026
Use of Electromagnetic Navigational Transthoracic Needle Aspiration (E-TTNA) for Sampling of Lung Nodules
Published on: May 23, 2015
Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma: cytopathologic correlates on fine-needle aspiration
Andrea P Subhawong1, Syed Z Ali, Armanda D Tatsas
1Department of Pathology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.
Background:
Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), a rare subtype of Hodgkin lymphoma, is an indolent tumor with frequent instances of disease recurrence but a favorable prognosis. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there are only limited descriptions of NLPHL in the cytology literature because it was only formally recognized as a distinct entity in 1994.
Methods:
In the current study, all cases of NLPHL diagnosed on excisional biopsy (n = 6 cases) at the study institution between 2000 and 2011 that had undergone previous fine-needle aspiration (FNA) were reviewed, with a focus on cytomorphologic features.
Results:
Four of 6 cases were termed benign on FNA; however, there was retrospective recognition of characteristic LP cells in all cases. Unlike classical Hodgkin lymphoma, the tumor cells of NLPHL were often found to be mononucleate and presented in a background of small lymphocytes. Other features identified included epithelioid histiocytes and numerous bare atypical nuclei.
Conclusions:
Cases of NLPHL are commonly misdiagnosed as benign reactive lymphoid tissue and therefore a careful search using high magnification for LP cells is recommended in the evaluation of lymph node FNAs.
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