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Published on: March 8, 2012
Lymphomas in Ile-Ife, Nigeria: Immunohistochemical Characterization and Detection of Epstein-Barr virus Encoded RNA
Ifeyinwa M Onwubuya1, Kayode A Adelusola2, Muheez A Durosinmi3
1Senior Registrar, Department of Morbid Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex , Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria .
Background:
The proper histopathological characterization of malignant lymphomas requires the use of immunohistochemistry along with other molecular pathology techniques.
Materials And Methods:
Malignant lymphomas histologically diagnosed in our hospital were reclassified according to the WHO scheme using immunohistochemistry while in-situ hybridization was performed for the detection of Epstein-Barr virus encoded RNA.
Results:
There were 83 cases of lymphoma. The male to female ratio was 1.9:1 while the overall mean age was 41.7 years. Non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) constituted about 79.5% of cases. The majority of cases (98.8%) were B-cell lymphomas. Nine subtypes of lymphomas were identified with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (56.4% of which were of the germinal centre type) constituting the largest group (47.0%). Intermediate and high grade subtypes were more common. The majority of cases (72.3%) were nodal lymphomas with cervical lymph node being the commonest site (48.2%). Only classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) (20.5%) was seen of which the mixed cellularity subtype was the most common. Epstein Barr virus (EBV) encoded ribonucleic acid was detected in 7 cases (8.4%) including 4 cases of HL, 2 cases of Burkitt lymphoma and the only case of plasmablastic lymphoma. About five cases were reclassified as non-lymphoid malignant lesions.
Conclusion:
Immunohistochemistry is vital to the proper classification of lymphomas even in a resource poor environment. Although nine subtypes of lymphomas were identified, diffuse large B-cell lymphomas formed the largest single group. Epstein-Barr virus probably plays an important role in lymphomatogenesis in this environment. A larger multicentre study is required to prove this.
