Rosette forming T-cells in human lymphomas: relationship with age and clinical parameters

Peripheral blood spontaneous rosette forming T cells (RFC) were studied in 40 Hodgkin's Disease (HD) and 20 lymphosarcoma (LS) patients, classified according to the histological type and spread of disease and to their age, treatment, clinical condition and evolution. LS patients had near normal RFC values; in HD, the lowest values of RFC corresponded to the most severe histological picture. In all patients, differences could be seen according to the spread of the disease and the clinical condition, but none in relation with treatment nor with the clinical evolution in a one year period after the test. While in controls and LS patients, RFC were higher in younger than older subjects, in HD, values were higher after 50 years of age. The usefulness of RFC test in the evaluation of lymphoma patients is discussed.