Reproducibility and prognostic value of different non-Hodgkin's lymphoma classifications: study based on the...

In the EORTC trial 20751, six pathologists belonging to five different centers classified tumoral lymph nodes from 406 untreated patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) into three different NHL classifications. NHL were most easily and reliably subdivided according to the growth pattern (the rate of consensus being 93%). Classification according to growth pattern proved to be of prognostic significance. The rate of consensus of classifying cases in the different NHL classifications ranged from 74% for the Rappaport, through 70% for the Kiel to 67% for the international working formulation. It is concluded that NHL are reliably classified according to their growth pattern, and that this subdivision is of primary prognostic significance.