Immunological markers in a coexisting chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Hodgkin's disease

A 57 year old patient in whom Hodgkin's disease (HD) and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) was simultaneously diagnosed is described. The infiltration of peripheral blood and bone marrow by mature lymphocytes, with special immunological phenotype (SIg negative, mouse rosette positive and monoclonal antibodies B1+, B4+) consistent with B-CLL and histological findings of lymphnode and axillary mass biopsies were typical of HD. The immunological study of the cell suspension from the axillary mass displayed a phenotype similar to that of the peripheral blood lymphocytes. Whether HD and CLL are two processes of fortuitous association, or a single clinical entity remains to be elucidated. The immunological findings in our patient suggest a common origin for both disorders and that HD could sometimes be the result of a B cell proliferation.