Nodal Follicular Lymphomas: A Clinicopathological Study from a Tertiary Care Centre in South India

The aim of this study was to assess the distribution of nodal follicular lymphomas (FL) among various subtypes of non- Hodgkin lymphoma and to study their clinico-pathological features. Clinical details, histomorphology including grading & patterns and immunoprofile of 44 cases were studied. Majority of the cases were grade 1 (61 %) FL. BCL2 positivity was higher in low grade FLs (97 %). An associated diffuse large B cell lymphoma component was seen in 18 % and was present only in conjunction with grade 3 FL. Majority of our patients (76 %) had a high FLIPI score and belonged to the high risk group. Our study showed that the incidence of FLs is much lower in the Indian population (14.5 %) when compared to western studies and majority were of low grade. Although there was complete initial response to treatment, relapse was common and was much higher in low grade FLs with diffuse areas on histology, Ann Arbor stage III/IV and FLIPI scores of 3-5.