Abstract
Thirteen lymphomas consisting of one particular cell type were selected from 135 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The lymphoma cells were mainly characterized by irregularly shaped nuclei and faintly stained cytoplasm. The growth pattern of the tumour was diffuse. Immunological phenotyping of suspended cells showed that the tumour cells, irrespective of whether they were isolated from lymphoma tissue or from lymphoma tissue or from peripheral blood of leukaemic cases, bore a dense layer of surface immunoglobulin, lacked cytoplasmic immunoglobulin and receptors for mouse erythrocytes, and expressed both complement-receptor subtypes (i.e., receptors for C3b and C3d) in all but one case. The exceptional case was C3b receptor-positive and C3d receptor-negative. The number of IgG-Fc receptor-bearing cells was usually small. There was a consistently small proportion of non-malignant T cells in the tumour tissue. A comparison of the properties of these lymphomas with those of other types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and of non-malignant lymphoid cells, shows that the cells of this type of lymphoma (a) differ morphologically and/or immunologically from the cells of all other known types of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and (b) resemble centrocytes (cleaved follicular-centre cells) of reactive germinal centres. Thus, this type of lymphoma appears to be an entity that is closely related to, or even derived from, centrocytes.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 24 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $10.79 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tolksdorf, G., Stein, H. & Lennert, K. Morphological and immunological definition of a malignant lymphoma derived from germinal-centre cells with cleaved nuclei (centrocytes). Br J Cancer 41, 168–182 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1980.27
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/bjc.1980.27
This article is cited by
-
Non-chemotherapy Options for Newly Diagnosed Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Current Treatment Options in Oncology (2021)
-
Mantle cell lymphoma and its management: where are we now?
Experimental Hematology & Oncology (2019)
-
Topoisomerase IIα expression in mantle cell lymphoma: a marker of cell proliferation and a prognostic factor for clinical outcome
Leukemia (2004)
-
Multiple molecular mechanisms contribute to radiation sensitivity in mantle cell lymphoma
Oncogene (2003)