Flow Cytometric Detection of the Double-Positive (CD4+CD8+)/PD-1bright T-Cell Subset Is Useful in Diagnosing Nodular
Zhongchuan Will Chen1,2, Juanita Wizniak1,2, Chuquan Shang1,2
1From the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (Chen, Wizniak, Shang, Lai).
Context.—:
Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL) is characterized by neoplastic lymphocyte-predominant cells frequently rimmed by CD3+/CD57+/programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)+ T cells. Because of the rarity of lymphocyte-predominant cells in most cases, flow cytometric studies on NLPHL often fail to show evidence of malignancy.
Objective.—:
To evaluate the diagnostic utility of PD-1 in detecting NLPHL by flow cytometry, in conjunction with the CD4:CD8 ratio and the percentage of T cells doubly positive for CD4 and CD8.
Design.—:
Flow cytometric data obtained from cases of NLPHL (n = 10), classic Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 20), B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 22), T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 5), benign lymphoid lesions (n = 20), angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphomas (n = 6) and T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphomas (n = 2) were analyzed and compared.
Results.—:
Compared with the other groups, NLPHL showed significantly higher values in the following parameters: CD4:CD8 ratio, percentage of T cells doubly positive for CD4 and CD8, percentage of PD-1-positive T cells, and median fluorescence intensity of PD-1 expression in the doubly positive for CD4 and CD8 subset. Using a scoring system (0-4) based on arbitrary cutoffs for these 4 parameters, all 10 NLPHL cases scored 3 or higher, as compared with only 3 cases from the other groups, producing an overall sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 96% (72 of 75). Two of the 3 outliers were non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and both showed definitive immunophenotypic abnormalities leading to the correct diagnosis. The remaining outlier was a case of T-cell/histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma.
Conclusions.—:
The inclusion of anti-PD-1 in flow cytometry is useful for detecting NLPHL in fresh tissue samples, most of which would have otherwise been labeled as nondiagnostic or reactive lymphoid processes.
