Malignant lymphomas as tumours of the immune system

Malignant lymphomas have traditionally been classified on solely morphological grounds. With new immunological and cytochemical techniques, it has been possible to characterize normal cells of the T-lymphocyte, B-lymphocyte, and monocyte-macrophage system. Application of these methodologies to malignant lymphomas has established their nature as neoplasms of the immune system. Within the B-lymphocyte system it is possible to identify subpopulations responsible for Burkitt's tumour, follicular (nodular) lymphomas, lymphocytic lymphomas of intermediate differentiation and well differentiated lymphocytic lymphomas. The T-lymphocyte system includes lymphoblastic lymphomas, mycosis fungoides, and Sezary's syndrome. Large-cell lymphomas are diverse, but the majority are tumours of transformed lymphocytes, usually of the B-lymphocyte system. The precise nature of the neoplastic cells of Hodgkin's disease (i.e., Reed-Sternberg cells and their mononuclear counterparts) has not yet been established. Despite previous suggestions of a B-lymphocyte or T-lymphocyte origin, recent studies with in vitro cultivation have strongly suggested derivation from the monocyte-macrophage system.