Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
Flow-sorting and Exome Sequencing of the Reed-Sternberg Cells of Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
Published on: June 10, 2017
BOB.1, CD79a and cyclin E are the most appropriate markers to discriminate classical Hodgkin's lymphoma from primary
Sylvia Hoeller1, Deborah Zihler, Inti Zlobec
1Department of Pathology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Insights
Distinguishing classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL) from primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) can be challenging. Cyclin E, CD79a, and BOB.1 are accurate immunohistochemical markers for differentiating these lymphomas.
Area of Science:
- Hematopathology
- Immunohistochemistry
- Lymphoma diagnostics
Background:
- Classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL) and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) are distinct B-cell lymphomas.
- Accurate differentiation is crucial for appropriate treatment selection.
- Unclassified B-cell lymphomas with intermediate features pose diagnostic challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify reliable immunohistochemical markers for distinguishing cHL from PMBCL.
- To refine the definition of 'B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and cHL'.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 283 cHL and 51 PMBCL cases using tissue microarrays.
- Evaluation of antibodies against BOB.1, CD15, CD20, CD23, CD30, CD79a, cyclin E, LMP-1, MUM1p, p63, and Oct2.
- Calculation of marker cut-off scores using receiver-operating characteristic curves.
Main Results:
- For cHL, markers with the highest positive predictive value were CD15, cyclin E, and LMP-1 (100%).
- CD30 (92%) and cyclin E (79%) showed high sensitivity for cHL, but CD30 had lower specificity (81%) due to PMBCL positivity.
- For PMBCL, CD23 (98%), p63 (96%), BOB.1 (94%), and CD79a (90%) demonstrated high positive predictive values, with BOB.1 (100%) and CD79a (89%) showing high sensitivity.
Conclusions:
- The combination of cyclin E, CD79a, and BOB.1 demonstrates high accuracy in differentiating cHL and PMBCL.
- These markers can aid in the differential diagnosis of challenging lymphoma cases.
- Refined diagnostic criteria improve classification of B-cell lymphomas.
Aims:
To clarify which immunohistochemical markers could be helpful in distinguishing between classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL) and primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL) to more narrowly define 'B-cell lymphoma, unclassifiable, with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and cHL'.
Methods And Results:
Two hundred and 83 cHLs and 51 PMBCLs were analysed on validated tissue microarray platforms with antibodies to BOB.1, CD15, CD20, CD23, CD30, CD79a, cyclin E, LMP-1, MUM1p, p63 and Oct2. The marker cut-off scores were calculated using receiver-operating characteristic curves. Markers with the highest positive predictive value for cHL were: CD15, cyclin E, LMP-1 (all 100%), MUM1p (93%) and CD30 (83%). High sensitivity was achieved only by CD30 (92%) and cyclin E (79%). Nineteen percent of PMBCLs were also positive for CD30, which led to a lower specificity of CD30 as regards cHL (81%) compared with cyclin E (100%). The antibodies with the highest positive predictive value for PMBCL were: CD23 (98%), p63 (96%), BOB.1 (94%) and CD79a (90%), with high sensitivity for BOB.1 (100%), CD79a (89%) and p63 (82%).
Conclusions:
The use of at least three of the most accurate immunohistochemical markers, cyclin E, CD79a and BOB.1, may be helpful in the differential diagnosis of cHL and PMBCL.
More Related Videos
11:39Subcellular Fractionation of Primary Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Cells to Monitor Nuclear/Cytoplasmic Protein Trafficking
Published on: October 23, 2019
07:52Multiplexed Fluorescent Immunohistochemical Staining, Imaging, and Analysis in Histological Samples of Lymphoma
Published on: January 9, 2019